At Alamo Colleges, time for a change
It’s time for a change on the Alamo Colleges board, and this year’s down-ballot trustee races merit close attention.
A recent vote by the board to indefinitely postpone its election — a move that would have benefited two incumbents seeking re-election — raises serious concerns about the way this governing body operates.
This nine-member board is elected to six-year terms, sets the district’s tax rate and determines tuition rates. This year, three Alamo Colleges seats are on the ballot. The college district’s trustee elections are generally held in May, but they were moved to November by Gov. Greg Abbott due to COVID-19-related public health concerns.
The rescheduling of the election through executive order did not sit well with many of the Alamo Colleges trustees, and in August they sought to postpone the election to some undetermined date. The lack of transparency and community input surrounding that vote is cause for concern.
The 6-2-1 vote to delay the election directly benefited two trustees who voted in support of the measure. The terms of Joe Jesse Sanchez and Jose A. Macias Jr. expired in May, but they have been allowed to remain in office until an election can be held. Both are seeking re-election.
If not for another trustee’s concern about the election delay, his request to the Texas attorney general’s Office for intervention and a threat by the state to take the district to court, the Alamo Colleges would not be on the November ballot.
The vote to circumvent state law and postpone the election was wrong and would have disenfranchised voters. We cannot in good conscience support the trustees who sought to postpone the election.
In the District 2 race, we recommend Gloria Ray, who has been a tireless volunteer in her community. Ray retired from Kelly AFB in 1994 after 28 years, and has been serving on various boards and commissions since then, including several Alamo Colleges committees.
A former chairman of the March Committee for the annual MLK Jr. Birthday Celebration, Ray was appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to the board of Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, where she served for six years. Ray knows this community well; her many years of diverse public service would be an asset on this board.
The seat is held by Macias, a former Judson ISD board member who gave up his seat to take the Alamo Colleges appointment following the resignation of Denver McClendon.
In the District 4 race, we recommend Lorena “Lorraine” Pulido, an impressive candidate with a compelling personal story. As a teen mom, she went on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University, and later a doctorate from Our Lady of the Lake University. During her senior year in high school she was enrolled in a dual credit program at Palo Alto College. Pulido is well aware of the challenges facing Alamo Colleges’ students. She is the communications manager for VIA Metropolitan Transit and has taught as an adjunct professor at local colleges for 20 years.
This is an open seat. Marcelo Casillas, who has served on the board for close to 18 years, is not seeking re-election
This trustee race is the most highly contested, with four candidates. Among them is South San Antonio Independent School District board member Connie Prado, who is also running unopposed for another term on that school board. This unique situation of having a candidate participating in two different elections was created by the rescheduling of the Alamo Colleges election. If she wins both, she must forfeit one.
In the District 9 race, we recommend attorney Leslie Sachanowicz, a former prosecutor now in private practice. He has been an adjunct professor at St. Mary’s School of Law and spent more than a decade on the San Antonio Credit Union board, where he also served as its general counsel. His legal and financial background would be an asset on this board.
This seat is held by Sanchez, who was appointed in 2017 following the death of longtime trustee Jim Rindfuss. He was elected to fill that unexpired term in 2018. All eyes will be on the top of the ballot, but we urge voters to pay attention to local races, too. Every vote counts. During the Alamo Colleges trustee elections two years ago, one race was determined by two votes.