Anyone who might have been hoping that the June primary would bring an early resolution to the Assembly contest between David Campos and David Chiu has by now come to grips with the reality that we are in for another five months of political trench warfare. After all the money had been spent, all the precincts walked and hit pieces dropped, the outcome of the primary was inconclusive. Chiu’s team is enjoying the satisfaction of having bested Campos in what was essentially a nonbinding poll of the electorate, but Team Campos can claim a win as well, having largely closed what started as a double-digit gap between the candidates and held Chiu’s lead to under five percent.
I will admit to being happily surprised by Proposition B’s strong showing. Yes, the voters had killed the 8 Washington project last November, but this time the waterfront defenders were asking voters for a “Yes” rather than a “No,” generally a more difficult position to win. Moreover, changing politics on the Democratic County Central Committee (DCCC) had resulted in the local Democratic Party lining up with the real estate and development interests in opposition to Proposition B. In the end, though, the voters were not fooled, proving once again that big money doesn’t always win in San Francisco. In other news, Pride came early to City College this year, with Oscar-winning Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black f lying over from England to keynote our commencement ceremony on May 23. It turns out that Lance is not only a great writer, but he’s also a fantastic speaker as well. His speech was a witty and thoughtful celebration of diversity and difference, very appropriate for City College of San Francisco and a nice morale boost for folks at a great institution that has been going through very tough times. Many thanks are due to our Cleve Jones, a City College graduate and good friend of Lance’s, for making the connection.
City College graduations are always a great reminder of how vitally important the college is to our City. Sitting in Rams’ Stadium, listening to graduate and recent alumni speakers recounting the challenges they had overcome—from poverty to drug addiction to other health challenges—to reach their academic goals, I was reminded that City College is a community of strivers, amazing individuals who may not have started life with many advantages, but are doing all they can to pursue their dreams. City College is here for them, and even after five years of recession and two years of an accreditation crisis manufactured by an out-of-control rogue accreditor, City College still makes miracles happen.
The news on the accreditation front continues to be grim, with the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) seemingly hell-bent on terminating City College’s accreditation by the end of July. In recent weeks, they have rejected pleas to give the College more time from a who’s who of important Californians, from the State Chancellor of community colleges to Mayor Lee to Congresswomen Pelosi, Speier and Eshoo. Even with the federal Department of Education repeatedly and publicly stating that the ACCJC can extend its timeline, the ACCJC has so far refused to do so. Having watched the ACCJC in operation for a couple of years now, I continue to be amazed by its hubris, its poor political judgment and its seemingly complete lack of interest in the real world consequences of its actions.
The good news is that, thanks to City Attorney Dennis Herrera, there is an injunction in place preventing the ACCJC from closing City College until the City’s lawsuit against the ACCJC is resolved. You may recall that when Herrera filed that lawsuit back in August, the Chronicle editorial board, Chamber of Commerce and others were critical of him for doing so, arguing that the lawsuit was, at best, a distraction from the necessary work of reforming the College. Few reasonable people are saying that now. Although it is possible the ACCJC may yet see reason and spare City College, time is short and, for now, the City Attorney’s lawsuit is the only insurance the College has against the ACCJC’s reckless actions.
Rafael Mandelman was elected to the San Francisco Community College Board of Trustees in 2012. He is a partner at Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP.
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