Dear Editor,

I am very concerned that the action of the Long Beach City College Board of Trustees violates democratic principles. The board is tasked with finding a new member for area 2 to replace the seat of Roberto Uranga who is now the 7th district city councilman. That seat must be filled by someone from the district which encompasses most of the Wrigley neighborhood.

This process is controlled completely by the President Eloy Oakley with the approval of the Board of Trustees except for one of the new members Sunny Zia. Oakley is a controversial figure. He and the board have cut 11 essential vocational programs at Long Beach City College and have instituted the two tiered system where students pay four times the tuition for the same courses during the summer break and winter intercessions. Oakley will be in complete control of the selection process for the new representative. Initially his proposal was pick a search committee made up of a governing board member, the student trustee and the Academic Senate President.

Sunny Zia one of the new representatives on the board felt this process was inclusive enough. Both the faculty union and the staff union had expressed a desire to be part of the process. Ms. Zia bravely made a motion to put the elected Board of Trustees the faculty, staff and community in control of the process. Sadly her motion was not seconded. The Board did consent to putting a community representative on the search committee. I understand the need to save $292,000 on a special election but the choice of a Trustee is a very serious and important matter. The trustee will represent the many disadvantaged families of the second district who rely on LBCC for their children’s education. The process must be open to the community, the staff, and the faculty. The next Trustee should not be a hand-picked associate of the president.

Sincerely,

Richard Madeira and Rita Powell