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Incumbents were strongly ahead in all four races to serve on the Board of Trustees for the Los Angeles Community College District, according to early results Tuesday.
Andra Hoffman (Seat 1), David Vela (Seat 3), Nichelle M. Henderson (Seat 5) and Kelsey Iino (Seat 7) were up for reelection on the seven-member board, emerging ahead in a packed race, with eight additional competitors vying for positions.
Latest vote counts for district attorney, Board of Supervisors and county measures as well as local races for all cities, school districts and water boards in L.A. County.
The Board of Trustees seats are at large, which means all voters in the nearly 900-square-mile district chose a candidate for each seat. Members are not elected to represent specific geographic areas and candidates chose the seats they ran for. Reelected board members start their new terms in January and serve for four years. There was no primary and the person who receives the most votes in each race is the winner.
The incumbents have all worked in the education system. Hoffman serves as the director of the transfer center, career services and student employment at Glendale Community College. Vela was previously on the board of the Montebello Unified School District. Henderson is a Fresno State faculty advisor and clinical field supervisor with the CalStateTEACH teacher preparation program. Iino is counselor and faculty member at El Camino College.
The 12 candidates in the L.A. Community College District Board of Trustees election include activists, former and current faculty and staff members, and incumbent trustees.
The district faces myriad of challenges, including a turnover in system leadership.
The current board will meet Wednesday and is expected to approve the appointment of Alberto J. Román as interim chancellor for the district. Once approved, he will leave his position as president of East Los Angeles College and start in the new districtwide role Thursday.
Román would replace Francisco Rodriguez, who led the district for a decade and announced in August that he would step down Nov. 2, roughly a year into a four-year contract renewal.
Los Angeles Community College District Chancellor Francisco Rodriguez will step down Nov. 2 amid faculty tensions, lawsuits and other controversies.
Rodriguez and the board have also faced other hurdles, including criticism from faculty, several of whom have filed civil lawsuits alleging sexual harassment and retaliation. In May, the Academic Senate voted no confidence in the chancellor and board. Faculty leaders have also called for an overhaul of how the system responds to sexual harassment.
Paid $2,000 per month, trustees oversee a community college district that serves nearly 194,000 students, according to the most recent data from the 2023-2024 academic year. Enrollment is recovering from pre-pandemic levels in 2019-2020, when 210,445 students studied at the district’s nine campuses.
The district’s Academic Senate is demanding the district improve efforts to prevent sexual harassment and discrimination by conducting timely and impartial investigations, and taking disciplinary actions if violations are found.
Data from a 2022 survey showed that about 75% of LACCD students were people of color while 64% were of lower incomes, 53% lived at or below the federal poverty line, and 22% were enrolled in public assistance programs. Many students are in their mid-20s and go to school part-time while juggling work and family responsibilities.
In statements to The Times before the election, many candidates said that improving the access of low-income and immigrant students to basic needs, academic and vocational success and housing issues were among their priorities.
