By the League of United Latin American Citizens
President Franklin D. Roosevelt was fond of saying — “In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.”
On Tuesday night (Dec. 13) the Ventura County Community College District Board took an action that may impact their credibility with community stakeholders.
On a 3-2 vote Trustees Blum, Miller, and McKay denied the chair position to fellow Trustee Art Hernandez and failed to take any action regarding a confidential document leaked to the press.
The board majority has greatly disappointed LULAC’s membership and many respected community leaders by betraying of two of our organization’s core principles; the political advancement of Hispanics and the right to communicate concerns to our elected representatives.
By passing over Hernandez for chair and ignoring the issue of Meznek’s letter, we suspect that a plan was hatched behind closed doors before Tuesday’s meeting.
The leaked letter from VCCCD Chancellor James Meznek to the board announcing his retirement has caused all the uproar and has placed board chair Steve Blum at the center of the storm.
The board now needs to step up to the plate and investigate the source of the leak.
Whether it was an administrator, a trustee, or the Chancellor himself who leaked it, the improper release of personnel related correspondence is a serious matter that can infringe on the right of privacy and subject the district to litigation.
Trustees should realize what’s at stake here. How can they expect the public to trust them and the institution they govern when confidential documents are leaked for the sole purpose of supressing the opinions of others.
LULAC urges the board to fully investigate who is responsible. The public has a right to expect full transparency on the part of all elected officials.
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