A dozen candidates vie for Delta board

By Alex Breitler
Record Staff Writer
August 09, 2008 6:00 AM

STOCKTON - It'll be an unusually crowded ballot for the San Joaquin Delta College Board of Trustees come November.

A dozen candidates filed to run for the board by Friday's deadline, some of them citing widely publicized reports of board dysfunction and alleged mismanagement of a $250 million voter-approved bond.

New blood on the board is already guaranteed for the first time in more than a decade after longtime Trustee Dan Parises announced he would not seek another term.

Also, board Chairman Leo Burke, first elected in 1975, did not file for re-election. He was out of town Friday and could not be reached for comment.

Five people are seeking Burke's seat.

"Delta has not been getting what it deserves," said one of them, Stockton native and business and real estate attorney David Rishwain.

Here's how the competition breaks down:

» AREA 1 (Stockton): Incumbent Anthony Bugarin, a schoolteacher, is challenged by businessman James Grunsky and businesswoman Jennet Stebbins. Stebbins in June campaigned unsuccessfully for the state Senate.

» AREA 2 (Stockton): Burke's seat is sought by five challengers: retired Delta administrator Mary Ann Cox; former full-time Delta student Motecuzoma Sanchez; accountant Thomas LaBounty; broker Gregory Benigno; and Rishwain, the attorney. Sanchez in June campaigned unsuccessfully for Stockton mayor.

"It seems like there's going to be several new faces on the board, and I think that's encouraging," said LaBounty, 49. "It seems like any change on the board will be positive."

» AREA 5 (Galt, Rio Vista and Calaveras County): Architect Steve Castellanos is the lone candidate to replace Parises.

» AREA 6 (Tracy): Trustee Greg McCreary, who has not had an opponent since he was elected in 1996, now faces two: Carolyn Gamino, a Tracy school employee; and Teresa R. Brown, a university program developer.

Delta Trustees Maria Elena Serna, Janet Rivera and Ted Simas are not up for re-election this year.

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