A N AT I O N A L PA C E M A K E R AWA R D N E W S PA P E R
Volume 62/Special Edition
theswcsun.com
November 13, 2018
Special Edition ELECTION 2018
students talk midterm elections governing board lineup ammar’s fight for congress A GOLDEN NIGHT Last week’s election, one of the most anticipated midterms in decades, played out on the national stage like many expected it would, with Democrats taking control of the House and Republicans maintaining control in the Senate. Democrat and former Jaguar Ammar Campa-Najjar came up short in his bid to oust incumbent Republican Duncan Hunter for San Diego’s 50th-District U.S. House seat. In other races, Gavin Newsom is California’s new governor, Chula Vista Mayor Mary Salas won re-election, John McCann and Jill Galvez were elected to seats on the Chula Vista City Council and the city’s cannabis tax passed. The Sun also talked to SWC students about the issues that mattered most to them in the election.
CAZARES
takes seat BY BRIN BALBOA, MIKAYLA MOORE-BASTIDE & JORDYN BRYANT
CAMPA-NAJJAR Victoria Sanchez/Staff
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Leticia Cazares won a hard-fought victory over Nicole Jones in last week’s election for a seat on the Southwestern Community College District Governing Board. Cazares, who won 44 percent of the vote to Jones’ 35 percent, was endorsed by current SWCCD governing board members Norma Hernandez, Nora Vargas, Roberto Alcantar, Tim Nader and Griselda Delgado. She said their support shows their trust in her. She will join the Governing Board in the 2019 spring semester. “In a sense, it does give me an advantage,” said Cazares during a recent interview with The Sun. “It shows that I have a working relationship with these people. They know my track record, they know and believe in my ability to serve effectively. They believe that I can truly represent all students.” Jones, meanwhile, ran as an outsider who didn’t owe anyone favors. “I’m like a newcomer on the outside looking in,” said Jones in a recent interview with The Sun. “It started looking like to me that people expect something in return for supporting you. I don’t operate like that.” Jones would have been the first African-American elected to the governing board, and the first to serve on any school board in Chula Vista. SWC is reported to have “one of the two to three most toxic” racial climates of 50 colleges studied by USC’s Race and Equity center. “There’s a limited amount of African-American women who are leaders in the entire system,” Jones said. “I have somewhat of a responsibility to shape this narrative of what it means to be a person like me in the community colleges as an African-American woman. Even though there were challenging moments for me, I showed up anyway. I just keep working in that regard in face of the many of the obstacles that came my way as a person who is from an oppressed group.” Cazares said she understands the problematic race climate that is taking over SWC and hopes to strengthen policies to make campus more inclusive. “If we’re gonna work through this, we need to acknowledge that there’s been issues historically,” Cazares said. Cazares has eight years of policy experience. From 2009 to 2011, she was a legislative assistant for former Congressman Bob Filner, who also served briefly as San Diego’s mayor before being forced to resign amid claims he sexually harassed women. She is currently the vice president of the American Civil Liberties Union in San Diego and the commissioner of the Chula Vista Cultural Arts Commission. “There is an experience here that I think I can share, especially for women who are considering leadership roles,” Cazares said. She said she hopes to establish “free or debt-free community college tuition” because many students struggle with financial aid. She said she understands the hassles of tuition and FAFSA and wants students to know they are heard. “College affordability is a huge issue,” Cazares said. As a part-time public health lecturer at SDSU, she assists students in finding internships and directing them to various career paths. She said she aspires to give all SWC students