Sunday, August 10, 2008

Candidate statements (SOCCCD)


At the end (below), I have links to pdf files of candidate statements for those running for a seat on the board of the South Orange County Community College District (the election will be on November 4).

Arlene Greer’s statement confirms that she is indeed Tom Fuentes’ ally (challenging incumbent Bill Jay). She even borrows from Fuentes' statement. (Well, I suppose it could have gone the other way around.)

First, here are some excerpts that I thought you might find interesting (all emphases are my own):

AREA 1 (Irvine, etc.)

CAROLYN D. INMON
…Please vote for Carolyn," The Teachers’ Choice"

DAVID B. LANG
I have been … providing principled leadership to Saddleback and Irvine Valley Colleges. …Other District accomplishments during my tenure on the Board include: capital improvements of over $79 million, including development costs of the Tustin campus, without a bond measure, expansion of online education courses, implementation of cutting edge technology, and many other successes….

[Among Lang's "principles" is undying support of ruthless, incompetent, and despised chancellors--and a commitment to do just about anything for the sake of furthering his political ambitions.]

AREA 3 (Laguna Beach, etc.)

ARLENE GREER AGE: 56
OCCUPATION: Businesswoman
As education becomes more essential in the global economy, our Community Colleges are increasingly called upon to transition our sons and daughters from high school to four year institutions and real world employment. As parents and taxpayers, we expect our Community Colleges to meet the needs of both high school graduates and older adults who are returning to our campuses. As your Trustee, I will hold my board, the faculty and the staff to standards consistent with achieving those goals and objectives.

Supervisor Pat Bates endorses my candidacy because of my advocacy of community involvement. Trustee Tom Fuentes and Congressman Ed Royce endorse my candidacy because of my commitment to sound, conservative, business principles. Capistrano Trustee Anna Bryson endorses my candidacy because of my promise to enrich the academic curriculum, enhance our physical plant and extend community outreach.

Some forty years ago, then Governor Reagan broke ground on our community college district with a promise and a commitment to serve the students and community of South Orange County. I intend to honor that promise and commitment by working to ensure that our college district remain an educational beacon on the hill….

[Evidently, Greer has not heard that curriculum is within faculty, not board, purview. I love the gratuitous reference to Saint Ronald. Now, who do you suppose gave her that idea?]

WILLIAM (BILL) JAY
…My forty-one years as an educator have taught me this: If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. Just make it better!....

AREA 6 (Lake Forest, etc.)

BOB BLISS
…Saddleback and Irvine Valley Colleges must also promote values and work habits that will serve our students well in their future endeavors - values such as honesty, hard work, family and personal integrity….

THOMAS A. “TOM” FUENTES
Ronald Reagan broke ground for the South Orange County Community College District, forty years ago. As your Trustee, I have sought to utilize his conservative values and principles to guide our District.

As a result, our District is financially solvent and our campuses are safe for our students.

Modern classroom technology and instructional equipment have been implemented by the prudent expenditure of limited funds. Enrollment has increased and the renovation and construction of college buildings have been achieved without new taxpayer burdens of bond measures.

Course offerings for students have grown tremendously with online classes. A Master Plan for education and facilities is in place. Faculty and staff are held accountable for student success. As a consequence, our District has achieved high transfer and job placement rates for our students.

Because of my strong conservative fiscal and educational leadership, Supervisor Pat Bates, Assemblywoman Mimi Walters, Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, Senator Dick Ackerman, Supervisor Bill Campbell, and Congressman John Campbell have endorsed my re-election, as have Bruce Herschensohn and countless students and graduates of our community colleges….

[No mention of the Accreditation sword hanging over each college's head--thanks to Fuentes and his allies. Observe that Fuentes takes credit for our high transfer rates (etc.). We have high transfer rates because of faculty and staff. They certainly aren't helped by Fuentes' occasional Wackadoo eruptions.]

AREA 7 (Mission Viejo, etc.)

CARL CHRISTENSEN
Formerly a president of the SOCCCD Faculty Association...
…Saddleback College offers only one section of US History Since World War II as compared to offering 32 sections of American history dealing primarily or exclusively with American History before World War II. … I was a sergeant in the Korean War….

[Here we have a man suffering from both monomania and blindness.]

JOHN S. WILLIAMS
…Campus police officers keep our colleges safe and secure.
…My endorsements include all members of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, Chairman John M.W. Moorlach, Vice Chair Pat Bates, Bill Campbell, Janet Nguyen and Chris Norby, Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, Assemblymembers Mimi Walters, Todd Spitzer, local elected officials, educators and law enforcement….

[Vote for me 'cause I'm part of the OC Republican Party Machine! Plus I was cop!]

PDF files:

Greer is Fuentes' ally (contra Jay)

Reality check: TOM FUENTES, of course, is one of the key reasons that, for the first time in the history of our district, our colleges are threatened with loss of accreditation. (To see the ACCJC's letters, go here and here.)

FUENTES + GREER.
Yesterday, we posted about the trustee race here in the South Orange County Community College District. I noted that someone named Arlene Greer was running against trustee Bill Jay (Laguna Beach, etc.). I said that I had little information on her, aside from her involvement in Newport Beach politics.

Something interesting popped up last night. Earlier, Chris Enami had posted on Red County/OC Blog about "Community College District Races,” noting who was running in each race. That post generated a few comments.

But then, last night, “Anonymous” wrote:

district three ought to be interesting, arlene greer has the endorsements of pat bates, ed royce, tom fuentes and many more. she paid for a ballot statement which will help significantly. and, rumor has it that she is a very good fundraiser,,,

Naturally, I have no way of knowing whether Anonymous knows what he/she is talking about. But it certainly could be true, and this sort of thing was expected. (UPDATE: See next post: her candidate statement confirms that Greer is on Team Fuentes.)

In any case, it will be very difficult for any challenger to beat the incumbent, who has done nothing that can easily be exploited.

FUENTES FUNDRAISER ON TUESDAY.
The following is listed under "upcoming events" at the website for the Orange County Republican Party:
Campaign Kick-Off Smoker With Bruce Herschensohn
Committee To Re-Elect Tom Fuentes Trustee, South Orange County Community College District


Where: Duke's Place, Balboa Bay Club

Please join Tom Fuentes on the patio at Duke's Place, Balboa Bay Club on Tuesday evening, August 12th, at 5:30pm for a Campaign Kick-Off Smoker with guest Bruce Herschensohn. Admission is free to this informal summertime Smoker on the bay. Complimentary cigar and a no-host bar for guests. Attire is casual for the evening's gathering of friends. Bruce Herschensohn has a marvelous new book out, called Above Empyrean. There will be copies available for $20. Bruce will be happy to personally autograph the book for you. RSVP to kathy@tavpro.com.
You'll recall that Fuentes held a very similar event last November, also at the BBC.

Roy's obituary in LA Times and Register: "we were lucky to have you while we did"

  This ran in the Sunday December 24, 2023 edition of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register : July 14, 1955 - November 20, 2...