Gilroy
– Gilroy, Morgan Hill and Hollister voters could have been
deciding who would fill three of Gavilan College’s seven Board of
Trustees seats, instead, the race is on for only one of those
seats.
Incumbent Mark Dover and challenger Manly Willis, who live on
the same street and on the same block in Gilroy, are both vying for
the Gilroy-area seat.
By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy – Gilroy, Morgan Hill and Hollister voters could have been deciding who would fill three of Gavilan College’s seven Board of Trustees seats, instead, the race is on for only one of those seats.
Incumbent Mark Dover and challenger Manly Willis, who live on the same street and on the same block in Gilroy, are both vying for the Gilroy-area seat.
“I’m running because I think the board is … misspending funds,” said Willis, 57.
Willis said he and his family are Gavilan graduates themselves, although he declined to provide many comments to The Dispatch.
Willis said he is concerned for the future of Gavilan because he does not think the board and administration are being held accountable.
His biggest concerns are a loss of vocational programs at the college and “failing to be fiscally responsible.”
In a flier provided to voters, Willis, who has previously run unsuccessfully for the board, says the hiring of a full-time athletic director is an example of such fiscal irresponsibility. He also is concerned that enrollment is declining.
Dover, on the other hand, says the college made huge strides toward remaining financially stable, even as the state faced a budget crisis.
He credited President Steve Kinsella – who was hired during Dover’s term – and college staff with responsibly managing funds.
“We were one of just a handful of community colleges in the state that didn’t have to lay people off and actually held firm with what we had,” Dover said.
The 38-year-old lifelong Gilroy resident also said he has seen Gavilan strengthen its role in the community, and if re-elected, one of his goals is for Gavilan to continue to relate to residents in Gilroy, Morgan Hill and Hollister.
“It’s kind of a pillar in our community and I think Gavilan has reached out and is doing things in the community it wasn’t in the past,” Dover said.
Other goals for a second term, Dover said, include developing the Coyote Valley and San Benito County campuses, and ensuring the college is Title IX compliant.
Voters living in all three Gavilan locations in South Santa Clara and San Benito counties will vote for the Gilroy seat.
Incumbents Tom Breen, who holds a Hollister-area seat, and Leonard Washington, who holds a Morgan Hill-area seat, are unopposed in their bids for re-election and will not appear on the ballot.
Following the Nov. 2 election, Breen and Washington will be appointed to a second term by Board President Laura Perry.
During his past four years on the board, Breen credited trustees with hiring Kinsella in late 2002, passing a $108 million bond measure this spring, and approving “responsible” budgets.
Breen, a retired judge and Gavilan graduate, said he ran for re-election for the same reasons he ran the first time.
“I was hoping and wanting, as a student, to improve maintenance and care of the grounds,” Breen said. “I wasn’t successful, for financial and other reasons, but I still want to do what I can to encourage the administration to do a better job maintaining the grounds.”
Some of his ideas for maintenance and upgrades will be covered as Gavilan spends its bond money, Breen said.
Washington, a retired business owner and part-time community college teacher who lives in South San Jose, credited the board with the same achievements, but said he wanted a third term to help develop the Coyote Valley campus.
“I’m involved in that because it’s right here in my backyard, really,” said Washington, 70. “I want to make sure things remain solid, but at the same time, we do have a problem with 34 percent of our students going to other districts and how we’re going to address that.”
