Civic Engagement Taskforce: Nancy Pearlman

Nancy Pearlman is an environmentalist and grassroots candidate running for the LA Community College District Board of  Trustees.

This is a pretty important position but like many of the county-wide offices, most people are not paying attention to it.

Jerry Brown served on this college board before ascending into statewide politics. A seat on a county college board can springboard a candidate into higher office.

Nancy Pearlman announced upfront that was she was a former member of the college board, and she was running again to get the board back on track. She also made it clear that she was not seeking higher office:

            

Her opponent is a well-financed, union-backed incumbent.

She was lively, wily, and spritely throughout the entire debate. She talked a great deal about her prior experience as an educator, as well. Somewhat like me, she had taught every level of education, from kindergarten to college, and she had the chops and experience to prove that she could serve on the community college governing board.

                 

 I must admit that most of her positions were very left-leaning. She wanted to make college free, including the textbooks. That kind of thinking is fundamentally flawed, since someone is going to have to pay for it (you and me, of course, the vast majority of whom are not attending community college to begin with).

I do agree with her stance on getting rid of all the administrative overhead. Too many white-collar administrators going to meetings are sucking up all the money from the students.

          

 I also liked that she wants to oppose enrollment quotas.

Unfortunately, she also gave the same left-wing pablum about the need for more women's empowerment, even though the majority (vast majority) of students attending community college and universities are women:

            

I liked her spirit, and I liked her dynamism. She is connected to the community college movement, and she wants it to prosper. Community colleges in general are good for students, especially because they can help you save money for long-term university enrollment.

She was too liberal for my taste, but at least she showed up and spoke up.