Our Campaigne for Anita Martinez for College Board

 

Several people have asked me about the results of the election for CCSF Board of Trustees, so I want to report that even though our candidate, Anita Martinez, didn't win, she came very close to winning. 

 I think that's an enormous accomplishment for a grass-roots campaign, and I think the time we spent supporting her everywhere we went was time very well-spent.  It was an intergenerational campaign too.

Other candidates had more political connections  and money.  What Anita had and has is first-hand knowledge from 25 years at CCSF as both an instructor and an administrator and at Skyline and College of Marin.  She wants to keep CCSF a community college, and she has extensive experience with budgets.  

I feel very grateful to her for being willing to run for this office and put all the time and energy she put into it.    Kudos to her and to her campaign manager Leslie Simon as well as to Eira Kien, Jess Nguyen, and Stephanie MacAller.  

Here are some numbers:

Our campaign managed to win 116,967 votes (10.82%) while the third and fourth place finishers earned 126,281 (11.68%) and 122,893 (11.37%) votes respectively. This represents only about a half percent (.55) difference between fourth and fifth places, not bad given the forces we faced at the start of the campaign.  (The winners were incumbents Shanell Williams and Tom Temprano and newcomers Aliya Chisti and Alan Wong.)

Of course we'd have preferred that Anita win!  City College needs her on the Board of Trustees.  But there's something very invigorating in supporting someone we believe in, regardless of the outcome.  

I want to thank all of you who voted for her and donated to her campaign.  One more thing to be grateful for this Thanksgiving!

I enjoyed walking around the city and beautifying scenic spots with Anita Martinez signs!  I met a lot of Anita Martinez admirers along the way!

KALW's Article on CCSF

https://www.kalw.org/post/city-college-still-everybody-abrupt-class-cuts-spark-sf-debate

Follow Up on Supporting African-American Studies at CCSF

"Black Studies Matter" was suggested as our group's name as we continue to move forward in an effort to get a Full-Time instructor for the program.  Our meeting on Wednesday, February 19, was held in MUB 39 the day after the AFT 2121 passed a resolution to support the African-American Studies Program and not to endorse any trustee who has not supported it.    All other ethnic studies programs have a full-time teacher.

Here you see Patricia Nunley making a point as Nancy Vargas, Don Rico Gebera listen and Kyle Hill takes notes.

Others attending the meeting were Wynd Kaufmyn, who left earlier (not plictured), Kathe Burick,  Leslie Simon, Ramona Coates, Sophia Montano,  Tessa Brown, and Tina Martin.

Leslie mentioned that Glen Nance of the African-American Studies Program hired here in 1975.  

Patricia Nunley surprised me by saying the opposite of what I usually hear in identity politics--that people of a particular group don't want outsides.  She said tshe believed in brown people standing up for black--going to the forefront--and black people going to the forefront to stand up for brown people.  If I understood her correctly, she said that nonpwhite people in the Union haven't felt supported.  

The fear is that the powers-that-be are tyring to consolidate departments and programs, but this isn't likely to work because the needs are different.  

The big concern right now is that the decision not to provide a full-time instructor for AFAM studies was based on false information.  First, they thought that someone on leave would be coming back, but she won't be in AFAM Studies.  She'll be in History.  Now they're saying that the full-time teacher has to teach five courses, but there aren't 4 courses in African-American Studies, which once had 8 courses, reduced to 6, reduced to 4.    

During our meeting, Leslie got in touch with Tariq Farrar, the instructor who hasn't been replaces, and he verified that he was not teaching 5 courses in the African-American Studies Program.    It's not mandatory that the full-time instructor do that.

The next step is for Edgar Torres, the Chair of Latin American Studies and now the interim chair of  the African-American Studies Program to speak to the FPAC, the Faculty Position Allocation Committee.    We need to know when it's meting and who's on it.  

Support the African-American Department at CCSF

Instructors, students, and a counselor were at CCSF this afternoon brain-storming how to support the under-staffed African-American Studies Program.  Unfortunately, I left my notebooks with all details behind, but here are some pictures:

Leslie Simon on Cutting Classes--Museum Studies

Introduction to Museum Studies is one of the classes that was cut in the Midnight Massacre. Out of that class, came the Frida Kahlo Way Initiative which successfully changed the name of the street where City College’s main campus fronts from its association with a disgraced public official to a beloved artist who represents women, people of color, people with disabilities, and queer people’s struggles. 

Out of the decolonizing/indigenizing museums and community engagement focus of the class has also come the Land Acknowledgment Initiative. This initiative would institute a purposeful acknowledgment that City College sits on Ramaytush Ohlone land and owes respect and commitment to the ongoing struggles of indigenous people. It received early and solid support from the Associated Students Executive Council and is now making its way through the College constituencies.

This summer, due to a collaboration between Museum Studies and SFMOMA, the San Francisco scale model will be assembled at City College for first the first time since 1942, when it was here at City Hall. But Museum Studies has been canceled, so the collaborative work planned for the students this semester will not happen unless the bridge funding goes forward and we can move on a late start schedule.

In the Curriculum Committee pipeline, now aborted due to the Midnight Massacre, is the Museum Studies and Social Justice Certificate, responding to the need in museums to diversify their staffs. With its population of primarily low income students and students of color, City College is in a unique position to make this happen. Many low-income students and students of color are losing the opportunity to enter a field which is crying out for their participation. 

Hearing: How the Cancellations of 300 Classes Impacted Low-income and Communities of Color

Yesterday was my first time in the chambers with both the Board of Education and the CCSF Board of Trustees.to discuss how the cancellation of about 300 classes for the spring semester impacted low-income and communities of color as well as high school students.

A couple of members of the Board of Supervisors were there too, mostly to greet us. Supervisor Walton was one of them. Was the other one Preston, seated here beside Alex Randolph, who was President of the Board of Trustees for several years?

Before the "hearing," there was a spirited rally and press conference in front of City Hall, and a large group of school children stopped by with their teacher to cheer us on. Preston spoke at the press conference.

The administration was represented by CCSF Acting Vice Chancellor of Facilities Torrance Bynum, which really wasn't fair to him. The only one who had any data was Alex Randolph.

Jenny Worley spoke persuasively, making the point that "student success" should be measured in ways other than just their AA degrees and transfer to a four-year-college.

The speeches in support of the reinstatement of the cut courses were powerful. Beth Ericson presented a letter from a student who had the flu and couldn't come. Since we can't applaud in the chambers, we wave our hands to show approval and support. We waved our hands for Beth and others.