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- ELECTION SPECIAL -
CLARION
Online at
ccclarion.com
VOL LXXIV • Issue 4
November 11, 2020
Voters fill remaining BOT seat GRAPHIC BY ETHAN LANDA
BY ALANA DALY O’BRIEN
MANAGING EDITOR
ADALYOBRIEN@CCCLARION.COM
Laura Bollinger leads the race for the Area 2 Board of Trustees seat in the Nov. 3 election. The Area 2 seat represents Claremont and parts of Pomona and La Verne. The three candidates running for the position are Bollinger, Eric Kaljumagi and Joseph Salas, all from Claremont. As of 4:25 p.m. Nov. 6, Bollinger has 45% of the vote while Salas is in second place at 29% and Kaljumagi has 26%. With the election for the Area 2 seat, the last position on the Board of Trustees has been secured. Mary Ann Lutz ran unopposed for the Area 5 seat and Anthony Contreras
was appointed in a provisional position to the Area 1 seat by the board on Oct. 6. Beginning next semester the board will have three new members. “I just knew that I wanted to work hard the whole race, and I did that,” Bollinger said. “It was interesting to have the conversation with voters to educate them on the position and get their input.” The Board of Trustees is the largest governing body for the school, establishing policies and approving educational plans while advocating for the college in their district. This year the board unanimously approved a request to the County of Los Angeles
for a bond election, Measure Y, requesting $298 million for improvements on campus. The measure has been tentatively approved by voters this week. While the winner has not been certified yet, Salas has conceded his position. “A final thanks to Trustee-Elect Laura Bollinger and candidate Eric Kaljumagi,” Salas said in a Nov. 5 Facebook post. “Both Laura and Eric made me a better candidate on numerous issues. We sparred at times, we complimented each other’s ideas and all had a united love for Citrus College.” Bollinger was the first to enter the race and received the endorsement of the current Area 2
Trustee, Sue Keith. Kaljumagi said he believes Keith’s endorsement was one of two large advantages. “Unfortunately, Joe and I are similar,” Kaljumagi said, reflecting on the race. “We tend to appeal to the same set of folks, so we kind of split that vote. His entering the race was a disaster to me. He pulled his papers and filed on the very last day possible, and when I discovered it I was like, ‘Oh no. This is not good.’ And so it wasn’t.” Kaljumagi said he probably wouldn’t run for the position again while Salas said he would consider it highly. “The issues that I advocated for are issues that are important to the community,” Salas said. “The idea
of building housing for students experiencing homelessness, I’m still going to advocate for that. Just because I didn’t get elected doesn’t mean my advocacy for Citrus College will end.” While the competition was intense, the candidates were united in one goal: to raise awareness for Citrus and its opportunities during their campaign. “I really think that this race was really good for Citrus and for Claremont, because there were three advocates in our community for Citrus,” Bollinger said. “We don’t often talk about Citrus College in our community as we have for the last three months.”
Measure Y surpasses 55% BY ALANA DALY O’BRIEN
MANAGING EDITOR
ADALYOBRIEN@CCCLARION.COM
GRAPHIC BY ETHAN LANDA
Preliminary vote tallies show that Bond Measure Y is surpassing the 55% majority needed to pass as a result of the vote in the Nov. 3 general election. The bond would secure $298 million for Citrus to construct new buildings and upgrade other infrastructure needs. Results from the L.A. County Registrar/County Clerk’s office showed that as of 4:25 p.m. Nov. 6, 56.6% of voters approve of the Citrus College Career Education, Repair, Affordable Higher Education Measure measure. The measure was requested July 21 by the Board of Trustees to retain well-qualified teachers and improve the quality of education at Citrus College. Measure Y will implement facilities improvements outlined in the 2020-2030 Educational and Facilities Master Plan, including: -New job training, science and technology classrooms and
laboratories. -Meeting earthquake, fire, clean drinking water safety standards. -Providing resources for students and veterans preparing for university transfer and jobs. -Renovating leaky roofs and removing mold and lead paint. In addition to meeting plumbing and safety standards, Measure Y proposes the construction of new buildings. Some of the plans include replacing the Liberal Arts building, athletics facilities, library, STEM buildings and the Career and Technical Education center while creating a dining hall and Student Union in place of the bookstore. The last bond measure requested and approved by voters was Measure G in 2004, which provided $121 million for repairs, job training and campus safety improvements. The money from Measure G ran out in 2018 with its final project, renovating the Educational Development building which is not yet complete. The bond also provided funds to reconstruct the Campus Center, Vocational Arts building, Center for
Innovation building and Student Services building. Citrus College’s Measure Y page says that “annual independent financial and performance audits of how funds are spent and the formation of an independent Citizen’s Bond Oversight Committee,” will occur to provide accountability and oversight. None will be spent on administrators’ salaries or pensions. Measure Y was designed by the Board of Trustees as part of a regional economic recovery plan. The school’s Measure Y page says it will create local jobs by “expanding training partnerships with local employers such as NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, also known as JPL; Toyota; Metropolitan Water District; and City of Hope hospital and research hospital.” “In these challenging times, it was gratifying to see that our communities recognize the unique role of Citrus College in a local and regional economic recovery plan,” Vice President of Finance and Administrative Services Claudette Dain said in a July 22 news release.