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Three seats on the Chabot-Las Positas Community College Board of Trustees were due for election in the Tri-Valley this fall, but only one of those races will appear on the ballot.
Area 4 features two competitors — newcomer Joseph Grcar and incumbent Maria Heredia — who will give voters in Castro Valley, east San Lorenzo, Sunol and areas of Pleasanton a choice at the ballot box.
In contrast, the races in Areas 5 and 7 are uncontested and candidates will be appointed by the board in lieu of an election.
For Area 5, Catheryn Grier filed unopposed to represent Dublin and northeast Pleasanton, with incumbent Tim Sbranti not running for reelection. Also excluded from the November ballot is Area 7, where incumbent Steve Lanza is the only candidate aiming to represent Livermore, areas of east Dublin and southeast San Ramon.
Representation for Hayward in Area 1 is also up for grabs and will be on the November ballot.
In Area 5, Sbranti is taking a break from the role of trustee after having served on the board for six years. He told the Pleasanton Weekly he doesn’t plan to run for office in the near future given personal and other professional obligations.
In his absence, he backs Grier’s candidacy. “I whole-heartedly support Catheryn Grier and believe she will do an excellent job on the CLPCCD Board of Trustees,” Sbranti said.
Grier brings to her candidacy 15 years of experience as a part-time college instructor, most recently gained online through Brandman University.
She has also engaged with the community as a member of the Dublin Planning Commission, former member of the Dublin Partners in Education and former president of Dublin High School’s Parent, Faculty and Student Organization.
Currently, she works as a senior workplace investigator at PG&E and has her own sentencing mitigation and consulting business, she said. She has also worked as a federal probation officer and supervisor.
As a trustee, Grier intends to continue the district’s fiscal management and work to attract and retain students, she said.
Grier plans to expand opportunities for students and support current enrollees to address declined enrollment due to COVID. She is also interested in expanding educational offerings at Santa Rita Jail and programs like Restorative Integrated Self-Education (RISE) at Chabot.
“To address any issue, I will work collaboratively with my board colleagues as well as district leadership,” Grier told the Weekly.
In Area 4, incumbent Heredia faces off against newcomer Grcar.
Heredia has represented Area 4 since 2019, when she was appointed by the board following the death of long-time trustee Donald “Dobie” Gelles. She also serves as the board secretary.
Heredia brings to her candidacy four decades of experience in public schools, including 10 years at the high school level and 30 years at community colleges, according to her website. At these schools, she has served as counselor, coordinator and department chair.
In total, Heredia has been elected to three terms as department chair and three terms as a member of the academic senate. She has also been appointed to committees for curriculum, articulation, budget and planning.
She has served in other capacities too, including her membership in The Centro Legal, the La Raza Board in Oakland, southwest voter registration drives, and many community and parent education associations.
She is also equipped with a bachelor’s degree in society and Spanish, a master’s in school and career counseling and has completed the Excellence in Trusteeship Program.
As a returning trustee, she aims to continue setting policy for the district’s path of stability and high achievement, addressing the needs of the diverse student population, advocating for funding to address those needs, boosting enrollment and expanding career pathways, she told the Weekly.
“In terms of success, Chabot and Las Positas Colleges both have a trajectory of excellence, and it is an honor and an inspiration for me to continue as a trustee,” Heredia said.
She praised the schools, citing LPC’s ranking as No. 1 community college in California in 2023 by a website called Intelligent. She also expressed pride that Chabot was the founding college of the Puente Project — an award-winning program that aims to support the enrollment, education and leadership of underserved students, according to Chabot’s website.
Of high importance to Heredia is creating more career pathways to meet student needs and industry demands. She said she supports expanding apprenticeship programs and continuing partnerships with higher education institutions like UC Merced and Cal State East Bay.
Given her education and experience, she said she has a holistic understanding of nearly all aspects of the district and its colleges.
“I understand and value community colleges and the diverse community I represent where I have lived and worked for over 40 years, while raising a family,” she said.
Competitor Grcar prioritizes educating students for the workforce, improving the quality of education at LPC and Chabot and fiscal responsibility, he said. He also supports voters in choosing their community college trustees rather than by-trustee appointment.
Grcar, who is also running for BART Board of Directors in the Nov. 5 election, brings to his candidacy experience in the tech industry and a Ph.D. in mathematics.
His experience in STEM has provided insight into workforce needs and educational requirements, he told the Weekly. His background as a scientist also means he has an analytical approach to decision-making which he said will help him address complex educational and administrative challenges.
On the topic of educating the future workforce, he supports expanding STEM programs and vocational training to make sure graduates are prepared for the job market. More specifically, he’d like to partner with companies like Tesla to create more opportunities for students.
He also intends to improve education at the colleges by attracting high-caliber faculty, improving student experiences and supporting initiatives that improve curriculum. Class size is one of the specific aspects of education he’d like to address.
As for fiscal responsibility, he aims to be a “vigilant steward of taxpayer dollars”, according to a statement by Grcar. With this objective in mind, he questions if buildings are a wise investment, given factors like the popularity of online courses.
In Area 7, incumbent Lanza is the only candidate in the running and will not appear on the ballot.
Lanza was elected in 2022 and said his corporate and academic work prepared him to serve as a trustee on the college district board.
He has been vice president of a Fortune 300 company, a board member and chair for the LPC Foundation and Innovation Tri-Valley Leadership Group as well as a member on the advisory board for Cal Poly’s College of Engineering.
He has also been a part-time teacher of graduate-level business classes at the University of San Francisco and Golden Gate University, each for over 10 years. He’s taught at the community college-level too.
“It is the intersection of understanding the academic and business worlds and our local community that I feel has prepared me for this role,” Lanza said.
Similar to other candidates, Lanza wants to expand opportunities for workforce development as well as attract and retain more students to the district. He plans to accomplish this by forging partnerships with local businesses.
“Chabot College, Las Positas College and the Tri-Valley Career Center have a great deal to offer our community and the companies in our region,” he said. “Aligning these skills and needs with new partners will expand our contributions to the communities we serve.”
As part of Lanza’s plan to support and retain students, he is in favor of CLPCCD’s evaluation of student-housing options.
Area 1, representing Hayward, is also up for grabs this election season. In this race, incumbent Luis Reynoso and newcomer Hector Garcia will face off for voter support.
