Candidate for
Board Member; Monterey Peninsula Community College District; Trustee Area 2

One's political philosophy can be a touchy subject in a race for a non-partisan office such as this. The reality, however, is that voters can make better decisions about a candidate, even for a non-partisan office such as city council or school board member for example, when that candidate's political views are known.

Some candidates for nonpartisan offices go to great lengths to hide their party affiliation. Not I. I am a registered Democrat, and the only Democrat who has served in this office since it was created in 2009. I firmly subscribe to the Democratic ideal of support for public higher education.

I served my country for two decades in the United States Army, retiring as colonel. In the military, many people tend not to develop partisan views one way or another. One classic example was president Dwight Eisenhower, who, after World War II, wasn't sure whether to run for president as a Democrat or Republican, as his views were politically moderate. That is somewhat analogous to my experience as well, and I generlly regsitered as an independent, and, formerly, as a Republican.

In 2009, however, I registered as a Democrat, after realizing my core values and beliefs on labor, health care, and education issues are more in line with those of the Democratic Party. I opposed the Iraq war from the beginning, believe in a government role in the health-care system, and, most-importantly, in adequate taxpayer funding for public education. I disdain blind support among Republicans for more and more prisons, with bloated corrections budgets paid for with cuts to public-education funding.

We have a large middle class in this country primarily for two reasons: (1) Labor unions that since the turn of the century have fought for a living wage, and (2) Affordable public institutions of higher education -- like our community and state colleges and state university system, which assure that higher education, with the increase in earning capacity it brings, isn't just for the wealthy few. As trustee, I will continue to fight for adequate funding.

I will continue to support green building policies while encouraging outreach that will increase college enrollment, and through economic growth as explained above in my answer to question 5.