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In This Issue...
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Elections 2008
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Candidates Vie for Seats on Cabrillo Board
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Candidates Vie for Seats on Cabrillo Board
By Linda Fridy
All four candidates for the contested seats on the seven-member Cabrillo College Governing Board agree that the community college is an exemplary asset to Santa Cruz County. However, each has different priorities for providing services to residents.
Three of the seven seats are open this year, but in District 2, only incumbent Gary Reece filed and he will be appointed in lieu of election. That means two incumbents will face races â€" one race in District 6 which spans Aptos to Watsonville and one race in District 1 which spans Scotts Valley and San Lorenzo Valley.
The challenger in District 6 is Juan Escamilla, who supports vocational programs and community outreach.
“Cabrillo has an outstanding record with what it does. I want to expand on that,” said Escamilla.
He saw all the community college has to offer in his own family when his wife returned to school.
“She raved about it,” he said.
As a father and employer of young adults, he sees Cabrillo’s challenge as reaching out to people who feel trapped in what they do.
“They think [college] is totally out of reach for them,” he said.
Vocational programs not only benefit job seekers, but employers and the general community, he said.
“We go to the doctors locally, get our cars fixed locally,” he noted.
Alan Smith, Cabrillo College’s current board chair, wants to continue the board's good job.
District 6 incumbent Trustee Alan Smith is proud of the job the board has done passing and overseeing bond projects and helping recruit top administrators.
“This is the biggest construction project since the college was built,” he said, noting that the Bond Oversight Committee’s first audit showed the College’s record was faultless.
Escamilla Running as Independent
Escamilla owns three local Wilson’s Tires stores and has encouraged some employees to consider community college. This is his first campaign for an elected office, although he has worked behind the scenes politically as head of Santa Cruz’s Independent Party.
“I’ve enjoyed meeting people who come from different backgrounds to work together,” he said.
While Cabrillo attracts students from all over, Escamilla said he would encourage more local promotion. “I’d like more connection between Cabrillo College and the high schools it serves,” he said.
Escamilla enthusiastically supports Cabrillo’s efforts to expand classes in Watsonville and Scotts Valley.
“That piqued my interest because I grew up in the valley,” he said of the Scotts Valley plan. It also reflects Escamilla’s emphasis on reaching out to the whole county, not only with classes but also encouraging attendance at sporting events and performances.
“It’s a community college, and I like that,” he said.
Smith Said People as Important as Facilities
Smith is also enthusiastic about the new facilities, including the new program facilities on Cabrillo’s main Aptos campus. He cited the allied medical training, the arts, and especially the student services building, which he said will be the focal point of the campus.
However, Smith added that just as important as buildings are the people who work in them. The board’s role in hiring is vital, Smith adds.
“A lot of people are coming close to retirement who made the college the success it is today,” he said. “The trick is to find well-qualified people to fill their shoes and at the same time make new hires that reflect the population now.”
Smith, who currently serves as board chair, praises the respect and cooperation the trustees show each other, unlike some area school boards that draw attention for divisiveness.
“There’s a mutual respect among the board and within the college community,” he said.
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