Written by Press editorial board
Tuesday, 28 October 2008
San Joaquin Delta College has not used the $250 million Measure L bond wisely, and we think the board could use new administrative leadership.
Without a doubt, San Joaquin Delta College is in trouble after its gross mishandling of the $250 million Measure L bond, a scathing grand jury investigation and threatened loss of accreditation. The dysfunctional board needs new blood, and the first order of business should be to find new administrative leadership that can work with the new board to rebuild trust in the institution’s governance.
The good news is that two of the rooted incumbents aren’t running for another term, and in the other two districts having elections, the incumbents are not running unopposed — for the first time. So change is coming.
Voters throughout the community college district will choose one trustee for each of the four district seats out of a total of 13 candidates.
Eleven out of those 13 attended our candidate forum Oct. 22, and we’ve had numerous conversations with members of the Delta community about which candidates to endorse. Here’s our take:
• For Area 6, which has three candidates from Tracy, Greg McCreary — 70-year-old businessman, former New Jerusalem Elementary School District superintendent and 12-year board member — is the only incumbent we’ll back.
If elected, he’ll serve as president of the board.
McCreary has often been at odds, for good reason, with his fellow board members. He pushed for a satellite campus in Tracy, and at the very least, he wants to stick it out for one more term on the board to make sure we don’t lose the campus at Mountain House.
He’s out for our best interest on the board.
One of his challengers, Teresa Brown, is a program developer at the CSU Stanislaus-Stockton Center. She’s a smart and articulate newcomer who impresses us, and we hope she’ll still be interested after McCreary serves his last term.
• For Area 5, we endorse Steve Castellanos, an architect from Valley Springs who has been an outspoken critic of the Delta board. He would offer a unique perspective with his experience as a former state architect whose responsibilities included reviewing community college construction projects.
• Mary Ann Cox is our choice for Area 2, the district with the most competition in this race. Cox is a retired Delta dean who brings an insider’s understanding of the school and its problems. She’s a passionate supporter of education who said she believes it’s not too late for Delta to put a campus in Tracy.
• In Area 1, James Grunsky is an energetic trucking company owner and boxing promoter who is our choice to unseat 16-year incumbent Anthony Bugarin. Grunsky, 26, is a former Delta student who would bring thoughtful, fresh energy to a board that needs it badly.
Source
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment