Los Angeles Community College

Elect Mike Fong to continue progressive and equitable leadership for the diverse LACCD community.

Mike Fong, a lifelong Angeleno and the District 7 incumbent, currently serves as Director of Policy and Government Relations for the City of Los Angeles Department of Neighborhood Empowerment. As an LACCD board member, Fong created job-training programs and collaborated with Mayor Eric Garcetti on the Los Angeles College Promise program, making two years of community college tuition-free expanding college access for thousands of local students. He supported the creation of Dream Resource Centers and secured additional resources and partnerships to address food insecurity and housing insecurity. Fong also supported the African American Outreach Initiative and LACCD Framework for Racial Equity and Social Justice.

According to campaign materials, Mike Fong’s continued goals for his next term include expanding workforce education and high-growth sector job training programs, expanding dual enrollment programs enabling high school students to enroll in college courses, and increasing access to distance learning technology.

Additionally, Mike Fong’s long record of community leadership includes serving as Chair of the PBS Southern California Asian Pacific Islander Community Council, Vice Chair of the White Memorial Medical Center Community Leadership Council, and Southern Vice Chair of the California Democratic Party’s Asian Pacific Islander Caucus.

According to our analysis, Mike Fong will continue to provide progressive and equitable leadership for the diverse LACCD community.

Elect Raquel Watts to make the Los Angeles Community College District Board more reflective of its highly diverse student population.

Raquel Watts, a legal representative serving injured workers in their fight for benefits, is running as part of a coalition called Justice 4 LACCD, a coalition of four Black women seeking to diversify the board to reflect the 74 percent POC and 56 percent women student population it serves. Watts and Justice 4 LACCD are running on the shared values of what they call “The 4 R’s,” which are defined on their website as the following:

• “Representation – We are a united group of women who will make up a Board of Trustees that truly reflects and speaks on behalf of the LACCD community it serves.
• Recruitment and Retention – Creating policy to attract, retain and support more students and faculty that are under-represented. This includes more women, students and faculty of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community and those with disabilities.
• Reform – Designate a committee to investigate police policy and response on LACCD campuses.
• Response to COVID-19 – Position our Community Colleges to lead in creating an equitable COVID strategy that prioritizes the needs of the most impacted members of our community.”

Furthermore, the coalition promises to fight for the rights of part-time, disabled, and unhoused students, as well as those with health conditions that prevent them from regularly accessing a college campus.

In addition to her 28 years of service in the workers’ compensation field, Raquel Watts is a long-standing volunteer at Crenshaw Christian Center. As an undergraduate at USC, she was executive director of Troy Camp and president of the Student Committee on Admissions and Recruitment, advocating for underserved applicants.

According to our analysis, Raquel Watts and the Justice 4 LACCD coalition will provide leadership that promotes the shared interests of communities historically excluded from the policymaking process.

Nichelle M. Henderson, an academic faculty advisor and teacher/lecturer at California State University Los Angeles, is a lifelong LA resident. She is a leader in the California Faculty Association (CFA)/SEIU 1983 where she is CSULA Chapter Vice President, a member and former Chair of the Faculty Rights Team, and a member of the statewide Bargaining and Representation Teams. In addition to her union work, Nichelle is actively involved in several community based clubs and committees, serving as the 1st Vice President of the Los Angeles African American Women PAC and an elected delegate to the Los Angeles County Democratic Central Committee representing Assembly District 66; where she serves as the Co-Chair of the Credentials Team and Region 5 Vice Chair. If elected to office, Henderson promises to focus on increasing funding and offering greater accountability to students and citizens, enhancing student services such as academic and mental health counseling, offering vocational education and dual enrollment for high school Juniors and Senior, and improving outreach and recruitment to underserved groups such as people of color, the LGBTQIA+ community, foster youth, and the formerly incarcerated.

Nichelle M. Henderson is endorsed by many progressive organizations such as the Stonewall Young Democrats/Democratic Club, the San Fernando Valley Young Democrats, Black Women Organized for Political Action, Women Count, a number of local trade unions, and Courage California endorsee Holly J. Mitchell. According to our analysis, Nichelle M. Henderson will provide leadership that promotes the shared interests of communities historically excluded from the policymaking process.

Dr. Nichet James-Gray, a teacher and proud LACC parent, is running as part of a coalition called Justice 4 LACCD, a coalition of four Black women seeking to diversify the board to reflect the 74 percent POC and 56 percent women student population it serves. James-Gray and Justice 4 LACCD are running on the shared values of what they call “The 4 R’s,” which are defined on their website as the following:

• “Representation – We are a united group of women who will make up a Board of Trustees that truly reflects and speaks on behalf of the LACCD community it serves.
• Recruitment and Retention – Creating policy to attract, retain and support more students and faculty that are under-represented. This includes more women, students and faculty of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community and those with disabilities.
• Reform – Designate a committee to investigate police policy and response on LACCD campuses.
• Response to COVID-19 – Position our Community Colleges to lead in creating an equitable COVID strategy that prioritizes the needs of the most impacted members of our community.”

Furthermore, the coalition promises to fight for the rights of part-time, disabled, and unhoused students, as well as those with health conditions that prevent them from regularly accessing a college campus.

According to our analysis, Dr. Nichet James-Gray and the Justice 4 LACCD coalition will provide leadership that promotes the shared interests of communities historically excluded from the policymaking process.

Elect Sylvia Brooks Griffin to make the Los Angeles Community College District Board more reflective of its highly diverse student population. 

About the Position

Members of the Los Angeles Community College District Board are elected at large for terms of four years. Elections are held every two years, with three members being chosen at one election and four members at the other.

About the District

The Los Angeles Community College District is located in Los Angeles County and includes nine colleges, serving a population of roughly 240,000 Californians.

About the Candidate

Sylvia Brooks Griffin, a special-needs advocate who is active with LAUSD and the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles, is running as part of a coalition called Justice 4 LACCD, a coalition of four Black women seeking to diversify the board to reflect the 74 percent POC and 56 percent women student population it serves. Griffin and Justice 4 LACCD are running on the shared values of what they call “The 4 R’s,” which are defined on their website as the following:

• “Representation – We are a united group of women who will make up a Board of Trustees that truly reflects and speaks on behalf of the LACCD community it serves.
• Recruitment and Retention – Creating policy to attract, retain and support more students and faculty that are under-represented. This includes more women, students and faculty of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community and those with disabilities.
• Reform – Designate a committee to investigate police policy and response on LACCD campuses.
• Response to COVID-19 – Position our Community Colleges to lead in creating an equitable COVID strategy that prioritizes the needs of the most impacted members of our community.”

Furthermore, the coalition promises to fight for the rights of part-time, disabled, and unhoused students, as well as those with health conditions that prevent them from regularly accessing a college campus.

According to our analysis, Sylvia Brooks Griffin and the Justice 4 LACCD coalition will provide leadership that promotes the shared interests of communities historically excluded from the policymaking process.

Elect Charné Tunson to make the Los Angeles Community College District Board more reflective of its highly diverse student population. 

About the Position

Members of the Los Angeles Community College District Board are elected at large for terms of four years. Elections are held every two years, with three members being chosen at one election and four members at the other.\

About the District

The Los Angeles Community College District is located in Los Angeles County and includes nine colleges, serving a population of roughly 240,000 Californians.

About the Candidate

Charné Tunson, a former Crenshaw High School teacher, is running as part of a coalition called Justice 4 LACCD, a coalition of four Black women seeking to diversify the board to reflect the 74 percent POC and 56 percent women student population it serves. Tunson and Justice 4 LACCD are running on the shared values of what they call “The 4 R’s,” which are defined on their website as the following:

• “Representation – We are a united group of women who will make up a Board of Trustees that truly reflects and speaks on behalf of the LACCD community it serves.
• Recruitment and Retention – Creating policy to attract, retain and support more students and faculty that are under-represented. This includes more women, students and faculty of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community and those with disabilities.
• Reform – Designate a committee to investigate police policy and response on LACCD campuses.
• Response to COVID-19 – Position our Community Colleges to lead in creating an equitable COVID strategy that prioritizes the needs of the most impacted members of our community.”

Furthermore, the coalition promises to fight for the rights of part-time, disabled, and unhoused students, as well as those with health conditions that prevent them from regularly accessing a college campus.

In addition to teaching at Crenshaw High School, her alma mater, Charné Tunson recently founded the Tunson Leadership Foundation, aiming to impart the importance of community engagement and mentorship within local communities.

According to our analysis, Charné Tunson and the Justice 4 LACCD coalition will provide leadership that promotes the shared interests of communities historically excluded from the policymaking process.