In a move that surprised fellow trustees, longtime trustee T.A. Sims (below) was selected board president in a 5-4 vote ousting Juan Rangel from that position.
Rangel had been serving in an acting president role of sorts after former board leader Ray Dickerson resigned for health reasons in December. Rangel was formally selected president by the board in February, the first minority to hold that position.
However, trustees appointed a new trustee last month to fill the vacancy created by Dickerson's resignation and state law required that the board reselect officers.
Trustee Carlos Vasquez became visibly upset that Rangel (below) wasn't allowed to continue on as president and that no Hispanic was selected as an officer, noting that 60 percent of the student population is Latino.
He chastised trustee Tobi Jackson, who proposed Sims as president; Christene Moss as vice president; and Judy Needham as secretary.
"Shame on you Tobi Jackson," Vasquez said, "... for denying the Latino community a president of our own. Obviously this is politics. I thought we were past that."
Jackson responded that while "Dr. Vasquez feels very strongly, his comments are wrong. I serve 83,000 students and 11,000 employees."
She said race had no impact on her decision but seniority did. Sims is the longest serving trustee, having been first elected in 1983. Moss was elected in 1990 and Needham in 1996.
"These are the longest serving board members," Jackson said. "Mr. Rangel served well."
-Eva-Marie Ayala
Trustee Carlos Vasquez became visibly upset that Rangel (below) wasn't allowed to continue on as president and that no Hispanic was selected as an officer, noting that 60 percent of the student population is Latino.
Get used to one group playing the race card.
Posted by: Tom Smith | May 08, 2012 at 11:38 PM