Candidate for
Governing Board Member; Westside Union Elementary School District

Since 2005, Linda Jones has proudly represented the constituents of the Westside Union School District as a member of the Board of Trustees. As a tireless advocate for our schools, Linda has used her seat on the Board to fight for higher standards, greater accountability and a renewed dedication to improving our children's future through a quality education.

As a trustee, Linda has helped put the district on a course towards success. Over the past four years, the district has seen steady growth, not only in academics, but in fiscal responsibility and efficiency. While other districts have been forced to make drastic cuts in the face of state cutbacks, as a result of Westside's early planning, layoffs were avoided, while continuing to raise educational standards. Not content to just preserve jobs, Linda worked with her Board colleagues to pass a $63.5 million bond initiative, which will provide additional funds for the district to build new schools and create vital new jobs for the community.

As a civic leader, Linda has worn many different hats. Linda was recognized early by then Assemblyman Richard Katz for her skills in dealing with the diverse needs of his Assembly district. Linda served as Katz's field representative for two years, where she learned how to be an even more effective grassroots organizer and community activist. In 1992, Linda put these skills to the test in the aftermath of the Los Angeles Riots, helping heal the deep tensions within the community. As a result, Linda received special recognition from Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley for her efforts. In 1993, never content to sit on the sidelines when there was obvious work to be done, Linda secured an appointment from LA Mayor Richard Riordan to sit on the Rent Adjustment Commission, where she was elected Vice Chair and served 1 ½ years, ensuring fair and equitable treatment for renters.

In 1996, Linda relocated to the Antelope Valley with her husband, Bobby. Linda quickly became a respected community advocate known for her unwavering commitment to progress and her ability to find common solutions out of a diversity of ideas. In 2005, Linda turned her sights to elected office, seeking her first term as member of the Westside Union School District, Board of Trustees.

Both as an elected official and a private citizen, Linda has spent her life dedicated to the service of others. Linda has spent more than a decade as an active educator, working as a Resource Specialist with special needs students. In the classroom, she helped students find innovative solutions to their unique educational challenges, while as a member of the larger school community she became a popular fixture with extracurricular groups on the campuses where she worked. Among her most cherished experiences has been serving as the advisor to the award winning Highland High School Robotics Team.

In 2008, Linda transitioned from the classroom and turned her attention to finding new ways to attract jobs for the High Desert. In 2008, Linda founded the High Desert Region Green Jobs Initiative with the goal of attracting green industry jobs to the High Desert. As the initiative's director, Linda is working aggressively with private and public interest throughout the country to attract new jobs for the entire Antelope Valley.

Linda still finds time to be an active member of a number of civic organizations including serving on the Antelope Valley School Boards Association, as founder and past President of the High Desert Alliance of Black School Educators and as a member of the Lancaster Alumnae chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc and chair of the United Way Community Council for Workforce Development.

A native of Los Angeles, Linda lives in Palmdale with her husband of 29 years, Robert (Bobby), also a local teacher. Together, she and Bobby have four daughters and four grandchildren.