Political Philosophy for Moisés Montoya

Candidate for
Community College Board

I have been a person of conscience from early on. My family and childhood role-models stressed education, self-worth, understanding, appreciation and concern for the community and its diversity. As the son of Mexicano immigrants, I have an internationalist perspective. My experience in a family and community of strong women instilled a feminist awareness in me.

Today, I am active with the Freedom Socialist Party (FSP), a 33 year old socialist feminist party with experience, and a proud history, in many venues of struggle for progressive social change. Our organization is active in various U.S. cities (also in Canada and Australia), and I am one of five candidates in four states running for office as independent, candidly socialist feminist office-seekers.

For more information on the FSP, our sister organization Radical Women, and our newspaper the "Freedom Socialist", please visit our website at http://www.socialism.com or contact our FSP national office at Bush Asia Center, 409 Maynard Ave. S. #201, Seattle, WA 98104. Tel: 206-682-0990. Fax: 206-682-8120. Email: fspnatl@igc.org. You may reach our San Francisco office at the same address, telephone and fax numbers listed for my campaign headquarters. Our San Francisco Email: bafsprw@igc.org.

Like many Californians, I am very concerned with the deteriorating condition of public education. As a youth, I remember that California and the U.S. ranked high in the world in education. However, in the last 25 years public instruction, like other civil rights and social programs, has been neglected and has come under increasing attack by those who oppose an educated workforce. The trend has been to prioritize corporate profits, scapegoat immigrants, and build prisons over improving and expanding public education. I believe that recent attempts to rollback civil liberties and public education are attempts by big business and conservative politicians to restrict and control an increasingly diverse California population in a period of global economic instability. For example, Propositions 184 ("Three Strikes"), 187 (deny immigrant families education and health services), 209 (anti-affirmative action), 226 (limit labor's political action), and 227 (dismantle bilingual education) are a series of attacks on youth of color, immigrants, women, queers, racial/ethnic minorities, and labor--in other words--California's MAJORITY. Why is it that in an era of globalization and frenzied, Wall Street profits and mergers, the working majority continue to face a downturn in living standards, job insecurity and public education lacking in so many areas (funding, teaching staff, programs, public input and accountability, materials, and facilities)?

We need fundamental change. We need to prioritize people over profits. We need more and better schools, after school programs, $10 per hour minimum-wage jobs and job training, healthcare, and childcare, not more prisons.

We must make business giants (like San Francisco based Wells-Fargo, Bank of America, the Gap, Chevron, and Levi-Strauss) pay their fair share of taxes--without privatization--to increase revenues for City College, public education and social programs. The board must work in concert with others (including San Diego Community College District, student, labor and public education advocates) to obtain equal funding from Sacramento for both non-credit and credit programs. We can provide free education at City College and make it affordable to all.

We must make "shared governance" a reality at City College by creating a student/labor/community board, with decision-making power, to oversee the administration's contracts, policies and financial decisions. I call for the repeal of Proposition 209 and expansion of affirmative action and equal opportunity.

I support parity between full-time and part-time faculty, with equivalent rates of pay and benefits, decreased teaching loads and more opportunities to teach full-time where desired by instructors. I support English As A Second Language (ESL) programs, particularly in an increasingly global economy which continues to make San Francisco and all of California a magnet for immigrants. I call for fair and timely labor contracts between the administration and all campus employees. I supported classified staff in their strike, and proudly walked the picket line with SEIU 790 for a contract and believe that the present Board of Trustees acted in bad faith by waiting 14 months to come to the bargaining table. As a rank-and-file unionist, I will fight for better labor contracts and oppose contracting out for services wherever possible.

I support students and an increasing role for student input in the direction and policies of City College. I oppose the wrongful use and withholding of Associated Students funds, and the wasteful litigation to continue withholding these monies, by the District. I will work actively for the creation of a student/labor/community board and ways to increase student participation in policy-making at City College

I call for strengthening of women's, labor, ethnic, and queer studies programs on campus. More funding and support for these and other programs and services will be proposed with the direct input of instructors and students in these areas.

In women's studies, for example, the Women's Caucus is seeking alternative leadership and decision-making processes on campus and ways to challenge racism. Additionally, I call for free, quality childcare on the Phelan campus and expansion of childcare services to other satellite campuses. I support more funding and encouragement for women's sports programs and better night-time lighting on campus to improve visibility and security, among other things.

More education and support for sexual minorities on campus is needed. In light of the murder of Matthew Shepard, a 21 year old student at the University of Wyoming, it is abundantly clear that we need increased education and outreach around queer rights issues.

Labor studies could benefit from greater outreach and enrollment in labor courses. This could be accomplished with greater involvement of unions and unionists in San Francisco, including campus unions SEIU, AFT, etc. City College could play an increased role in training new union organizers in collaboration with the established unions. Education and involvement with labor activists, for example sisters and brothers in the Labor Party, would be a positive step.

These are some proposals I have as a College Board candidate due to my work and organizing experience as well as my political philosophy.