Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Coast Community College District trustee corruption--now it's Grant

     Not sure what to make of this story that appeared today on the OJ Blog. It concerns Coast Community College District trustee Dave Grant. According to the writer, the CCCD is pretty bad. Heck, maybe it even rivals the Mathur-era SOCCCD for Rot at the Top!

Hinky Coastline Trustee Dave Grant laughs off FPPC fine, offers “no comment” for news story (OJ Blog)
CORRUPTION CONTINUES ON DAIS AT COAST COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
David A. Grant
     Running on a mantra of “How does this decision benefit students” newly elected Trustee David A. Grant was elected to the Board of Trustees in November 2010. Since that time, it has been learned that Trustee Grant has been fined for failing to disclose properly the contributions that he has received as a candidate.
     How could this be? Trustee Grant is a retired college president, someone who is supposed to be a pillar of his community and one that holds the highest ethical standards? Why then, can’t Trustee Grant properly list his contributions with the Fair Political Practices Commission? Does he have something to hide? Is he afraid to show that many of his contributors are vendors of the District, some of whom like the law firm Rutan and Tucker,* are enraged that Trustees have shunned their services for other attorneys?
     Since joining the Board of Trustees, Mr. Grant has chastised anyone on the dais that has raised questions of the district’s executives, probed, or tried to find the truth in governance matters. He has repeatedly criticized his peers for “micromanaging” and for “outrageous” behavior. He has made veiled threats, and acted in a hostile manner toward his fellow Trustees in public. He has desperately tried in vain, through his connections with the Coast Report (a student newspaper at Orange Coast College) to show a conflict of interest between one trustee and a district lawyer.
Corrupt: Armando Ruiz**
     Trustee Grant’s ethical breach is one of many sad stories of lapses that have prevailed on the board at Coast over the last two decades. Former trustee Armando Ruiz double-dipped on his pension and developed a too cozy relationship with top executives, putting a friend, the now deceased Ed Dornan, in a senior management position at the district. Former trustee Walter Howald spent over $20,000 in travel in some years, even in the midst of the current budget crisis, and abused his power to force district administrators to help him get a community college job, so he could get a “PERS Retirement,” and numerous sources have commented that Mr. Howald did not actually live in the district for a number of years.
. . .
     Since 2007, reformist Trustees Lorraine Prinsky, Jim Moreno, and Jerry Patterson have brought many badly needed changes to the dais at Coast: they have brought forward a code of ethics, reduced bloated executive salaries, sharply reduced executive and trustee travel, reinforced Brown Act compliance and directed a complete review of all district policies to ensure compliance with accreditation and regulatory standards. For all of their hard work and dedication to the students of the district, they have been wrongly accused by the likes of Mr. Grant and the corrupt district bureaucrats that support him as “micromanagers” when in fact, these three trustees have set policy direction that protected the interests of taxpayers and students.
Interested in trustee gig? 
      If Mr. Grant has his way, the hard work of these individuals will be undone, and the Coast District will return to a culture of “if you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” – a culture that promotes croynism, nepotism, corruption, and a flagrant disregard for the needs of students. Mr. Grant’s sanction by the Fair Political Practices Commission is a reminder of the corrupt ways of the past, and a wake-up call that he must be stopped!
*Note: the SOCCCD has often used the services of Rutan and Tucker (e.g., the firm defended the district in my 1st Amendment lawsuit).
**Ruiz was a Saddleback College counselor recruited by Raghu Mathur to become an administrator at Irvine Valley College. He was Dean of Orange Groves or something. When he didn't get the VPI gig--that went to Glenn R--he was pissed and so he retired, pulling his notorious gambit that landed him some serious bucks.

Cal State Fullerton rally


CSUF students rally for college funding (OC Reg)

     Hundreds of students and faculty gathered at Cal State Fullerton Wednesday, giving testimony, signing postcards and making phone calls to the chancellor's office demanding that CSU leaders fight to stop cuts to higher education.
     Shelly Arsneault, a political science professor and a member of California Faculty Association, said protesters who gathered in the quad want to see the Legislature put a tax-extension package before voters. They also want students to become aware of the severity of the cuts so they can speak against them.
. . .
     Similar events were held on Wednesday throughout the 23 CSU campuses and other states as part of a day of action protesting cuts to education.
     The Legislature has already approved cutting $500 million from the CSU system. If voters don't approve a tax extension package, the university system could see even more cuts, said Erik Fallis a CSU spokesman. The Legislature has not yet approved a special election.
     "The $500 million in cuts, that's the best-case scenario," Arsneault said. "We've done our share; it's time for others to step it up….

SEE ALSO Cal State Fullerton Activists to Protest Fee Increases by Serving Top Ramen to Starving Students (Stick a Fork in it [OC Weekly])

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...