ACTIVIST GRADUATES TO COLLEGE PANEL; VALLEY RESIDENT JOINS BOARD IN MIDST OF BREAKUP MOVES.Byline: Sharline Chiang Daily News Staff Writer Longtime San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. activist Georgia Mercer will take her seat today on the Los Angeles Community College District The Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) is the community college district serving Los Angeles, California and some of its neighboring cities. In addition to typical college aged students, the LACCD also serves adults of all ages. board, just as it's decentralizing de·cen·tral·ize v. de·cen·tral·ized, de·cen·tral·iz·ing, de·cen·tral·iz·es v.tr. 1. To distribute the administrative functions or powers of (a central authority) among several local authorities. the nation's largest two-year system. Luckily, Mercer's no stranger to politics. Last year, Mercer ran for the Los Angeles City Council  The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States. , losing to
Cindy Miscikowski. She has served as Mayor Richard Riordan's West
Valley liaison and as director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood Planned ParenthoodA service mark used for an organization that provides family planning services. . A former teacher at Danube School in Granada Hills, she's also taught counseling for women at the University of California The University of California has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students, over 1,340,000 living alumni, and a combined systemwide and campus endowment of just over $7.3 billion (8th largest in the United States). , Los Angles. In the 1970s, she openly supported integration of schools. Over the years, she's built up a network - what she calls her ``wonderful list'' - of supporters that includes California's former Secretary of State March Fong Eu March Kong Fong Eu (Chinese: 江月桂, pinyin: Jiāng Yuèguì) (born 1922 in Oakdale, California) is an American politician of the Democratic Party. She has earned a B.S. in dentistry from the University of California, Berkeley in 1943, an M.A. and Valley-based African-American activist Barbara Perkins. Mercer, 56, says she offers her experience and clout to an undervalued Undervalued A stock or other security that is trading below its true value. Notes: The difficulty is knowing what the "true" value actually is. Analysts will usually recommend an undervalued stock with a strong buy rating. system. ``I think winding up on the college board is maybe where I've landed on my feet,'' Mercer said, sitting in her plush Tarzana home. ``Public education is always something I've been deeply committed to.'' Mercer is the only voting board member from the San Fernando Valley. Lindsay Conner, the last Valley-based board member, retired in 1997 after serving for 16 years. Mercer says her main goal is to heighten awareness of the role of community colleges and to boost fund-raising by teaching campuses how to create programs that attract donors, she said. ``If any city should have the best community colleges in the world, it should be Los Angeles. But they're not on the radar screen,'' Mercer said. ``I've got supporters and staff who can - boom! - jump in and help out.'' A week ago, Mercer was voted in by a 4-2 vote to fill the seat previously held by trustee Kenneth Washington, who died two months ago. ``What we focused on was the best qualified candidate. And the fact that Georgia was from the Valley was a plus,'' said board President Elizabeth Garfield. During the meeting, board trustee Althea Baker argued that the seat should be filled by an African-American, specifically, the Rev. Jules S. Bagneris III, a Los Angeles pastor. The next day, Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich Michael Dennis Antonovich (born 1939 in Los Angeles, California) is a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors representing the Fifth District, which covers northern Los Angeles County, the Antelope, Santa Clarita, Pasadena, and parts of the San Fernando and San criticized the board for bypassing Bagneris, a native and longtime resident of the East Valley. Antonovich is among the LACCD LACCD Los Angeles Community College District board alumni who have used the job as a steppingstone step·ping·stone n. 1. A stone that provides a place to step, as in crossing a stream. 2. An advantageous position for advancement toward a goal. to higher political ground. Others include former state Gov. and just elected Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown, Assemblyman Wally Knox, D-Los Angeles, former District Attorney Ira Reiner and City Controller Rick Tuttle. Current trustee Gloria Romero just won the Democratic nomination for the 49th District Assembly seat. Given her political ties, Mercer already might be plotting her next move, some say. ``I think maybe she is. She is a talented person. I think she does look beyond where she is ultimately,'' said William Norlund, president of Mission College in Sylmar. ``Hopefully, she'll serve this term and the next term.'' But Mercer, who will help approve a new district budget today, says she's staying - for now. ``I'm not doing this for my health or for my ego,'' Mercer said. She says friends asked, ``Are you sure this is what you want to do? Because this is going to prevent you from running for Assembly. I said, I think this is an exciting opportunity. . . . This is a place where I will be able to have an impact.'' CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Georgia Mercer of Tarzana is the only San Fernando Valley resident serving on the Los Angeles Community College District board. David Sprague/Daily News |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion