Gay Men Seek SF College Board Seats

As City College of San Francisco continues to fight a decision to yank its accreditation, a pair of out candidates is seeking seats this fall on the board that is supposed to oversee the local community college system.

Yet the elected board of trustees has not met for months, having been suspended when the California Community Colleges Board of Governors appointed a special trustee to take over the troubled system. That action was in response to the decision in 2012 by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges to terminate CCSF's accreditation.

The college remains open, however, as city leaders and campus officials continue to fight the commission's decision. The matter is now tied up in the state court system, with a trial set to begin October 27 before a San Francisco Superior Court judge.

Two gay men currently serve on the board: Rafael Mandelman, elected two years ago, and Lawrence Wong, who opted not to seek re-election this year. Despite the neutering of the college's elected board, two gay men are vying for seats on the oversight body in the November 4 election.

Gay activist Dan Choi is one of seven people running in the race for three four-year seats on the college board. Two incumbents, John Rizzo, the board's president, and Anita Grier, its vice president, are seeking re-election, while the other challengers are Haight neighborhood leader Thea Selby , former college board member Rodrigo Santos, Brigitte Davila, and Wendy Aragon.

In the race for a two-year term on the college board, to fill a vacancy created when former trustee Chris Jackson resigned, the leading candidates are former gay student college board trustee William Walker and Amy Bacharach. Thomas Moyer is also seeking the seat.

Walker, 35, works as a counseling service specialist at Foothill Community College on the Peninsula. He would be the city's only out African American to currently hold an elected office if he were to win the seat.

"Being an alum of the school, I have got a lot of insight. The other people running for this office won't have that insight and won't know who to call at the different departments on the ground to say how will this impact the education we have been providing in San Francisco. I have that insight on how the college has been operating," said Walker.

Endorsed last week by the Bay Area Reporter, Walker said he is "feeling really good" about his electoral chances this fall. He said he learned valuable lessons from when he ran for a seat on the board in 2012 and came up short.

This time around he is trying to raise more money to pay for campaign signs and literature to hand out to voters. He reported this week having a little more than $2,000 in the bank for his campaign, falling just shy of his goal of having $2,500.

"My last campaign I raised about $400 and $50 came from a donor, the rest of it was me. It got me 50,000 votes, so I was not too sad about my performance last time as someone who did not really raise money and was a full-time student," recalled Walker. "I had never run a campaign before."

His ideas for improving CCSF include offering better workforce-related courses and building a better connection to employers in the region, particularly in the high-tech sector.

Asked about the lack of power the current board has, Walker countered there is "still a lot" the college's elected trustees can be doing.

"Every board member elected has a responsibility to be attending the meetings that are happening and the hearings and communicating that to the world," said Walker.

Choi, 33, a former Army lieutenant and Arabic linguist, gained national attention in 2009 for fighting his discharge under the military's now repealed anti-gay policy that was known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Choi came out publicly during a cable news interview and became a vocal critic of DADT; he has also been forthcoming about his alcohol abuse, mental health struggles and being suicidal.

"I am now vegan and completely sober," Choi said during an editorial board meeting with the B.A.R.

Born to South Korean immigrants and raised near Los Angeles, he moved to San Francisco this summer and makes a living as a public speaker. He is also enrolled at City College as a vocal music student.

Choi argues it is important for the college, opened in 1935 and long a place for veterans to seek higher education, to have a former military person serving as a trustee. He pledged to leverage his celebrity and national contacts to rally support for City College with various stakeholders.

"As a veteran they listen to me," said Choi, who lists LGBT celebrities Margaret Cho, George Takei, Lance Bass , and Wilson Cruz among his endorsers.

Some of his ideas for improving CCSF include creating an alumni association and tapping its members to re-invest in the campus, upgrading the school's antiquated computer systems, and turning to the local business community to create job opportunities for graduates.

He has raised $7,154 for his campaign with a little less than $5,000 remaining in his account, according to the most recent campaign finance reports released Monday, October 6. Due to his lack of ties to the city's political establishment, he has been less successful in attracting support from Democratic clubs, local unions, and LGBT groups.

"I have the experience whether I get the endorsements of organizations or not," said Choi. "It is not about endorsements; it is about enrollments."

He lost a bid this term for a seat on the student senate at CCSF, joking he had "already lost" his first political race. Nonetheless, Choi said he is undeterred in his bid for a seat on the college's board of trustees.

And even if he losses this year, he pledged, "I will run again. I am not going to be a one-timer. I don't just stop."