L.A. College Board Seeks Candidate--and 44 Apply

The Los Angeles Community College District, which has been in desperate need of friends, has plenty of them this week.

The trustees of the debt-ridden district recently asked for candidates to fill a seat on the board, and 44 people stepped forward. Many of the candidates have also brought with them a series of endorsements from local and state political figures.

“People who we would never hear from have been coming out of the woodwork to endorse a candidate,” one district official said.

Why so much interest in a $12,000-a-year job with a governing board whose college district has been steadily losing students and revenue?

Because in years past, the Los Angeles college board has been a political jumping off point for, among others, former Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr., county Supervisor Mike Antonovich and county Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner.

But in interviews, the current trustees say they are less interested in anointing the next rising political star than in finding a “business-minded” person who can help cut nearly $7 million from the district budget by October.

They also say they would like to find a Latino or Asian candidate, better to represent a community college district where about one-third of the students are Latino or Asian.

On Tuesday, the trustees will begin interviewing all 44 hopefuls. Each will get five minutes to state why he or she should replace Trustee Rick Tuttle, who was elected city controller in June.

After an initial screening, a number of finalists--possibly as many as 20--will be invited back Thursday for further interviews. The board is then scheduled to vote repeatedly until a winner is selected.

“I’m looking for someone who is bright and articulate and can jump into the middle of some very difficult issues very quickly,” said Trustee Lindsay Conner. Board members, he said, “are sensitive to the need to represent our diverse communities,” but added that “in the end, I’ll vote for the best candidate without regard to ethnicity or sex.”

Newly elected board President Monroe Richman also said that a particular ethnic background “will not be a prime factor in the selection of a candidate. I’m most concerned about strengthening our ties to the business community.”

Both trustees said that political endorsements may be overvalued.

“When you have so many elected officials backing so many different candidates . . . the political considerations tend to become less important,” Conner said. “You know that no matter what you do, you’re going to disappoint a lot of people.”

In June, the trustees decided against letting the voters make the selection of Tuttle’s replacement, contending that a special election would be too costly for the financially troubled district.

“I think the board has wanted to make this as democratic as possible and give everyone their two cents’ worth,” said district spokesman Norm Schneider, who added that Tuesday’s public interviews will last from 9 a.m. to about 7 p.m.

Whoever emerges as the winner will join a board that has had its share of troubles of late. Since 1982, enrollment in the nine Los Angeles community colleges has been sinking steadily, and the district ended its fiscal year in June with a $5-million deficit.

The Legislature approved a bail-out bill, which was promptly vetoed by Gov. George Deukmejian. In response, the trustees said they would seek to cut enough money from the coming year’s budget to repay last year’s deficit.