SANTA ANA : District’s Veteran Trustees Snubbed

In what is regarded as a political snub for two longtime trustees of the Rancho Santiago Community College District, the board this week broke its 20-year tradition of electing officers in a predetermined yearly rotation.

Although tradition dictated that Trustee Carol Enos be elected president, the board voted 4 to 3 to keep Trustee Brian E. Conley in that position. Conley and Trustees Charles W. (Pete) Maddox, Michael Ortell and Enriqueta L. Ramos voted in favor of that decision, while Enos and Trustees Shirley Ralston and Tom Saenz opposed breaking the rotation.

Board members also split along identical lines when they elected Maddox to be vice president of the board, ousting Enos from that post. In another unusual step, the board elected a newcomer, Ramos, to the office of clerk.

The board president presides at all meetings and represents the district at official functions. The vice president takes over when the president is absent, and the clerk oversees the maintenance of board records.

Monday night’s unusual decisions signal the solidification of a new board majority, one supported by the district’s three employees’ unions. Veteran board watchers also consider it both a show of political force and an intentional snub to Enos and Ralston, allies who composed half of the board’s previous longtime four-vote majority.

That bloc included former trustees John Dowden and Rudy Montejano, but it began unraveling last year when both resigned.

“My mother told me there’d be days like this, but I never knew how bad it would be when it happened,” Enos said. “I’m honored to be identified with the previous board majority, (but) it’s obvious there’s a new board majority.”

In nominating Enos, Ralston repeatedly emphasized that the “normal rotation” called for Enos to be elected and urged the board to respect that way of selecting officers.

Maddox conceded that there had been an “unwritten policy” to rotate officers, but criticized the tradition as inflexible. He then nominated Conley, saying that he had performed well during a difficult year and that his continued leadership was essential for the good of the district.

“I’m disappointed,” Ralston said on Tuesday. “It’s a power play, and the idea that we need ‘someone with experience’ to continue for a second year when you pass over one of the most experienced trustees in California--it doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

After being reelected as president, Conley struck a conciliatory tone, saying: “I appreciate the votes of the board, and I hope that we will all work together to solve the many, many problems facing the district. I look forward to helping solve the disagreements and problems that come up.”

Pointing out that the board had upset tradition once, Ralston nominated Enos to a second term as vice president. However, Ortell nominated Maddox, who won moments later after little discussion.

Maddox then nominated Ramos--who was sworn in as a board member hours earlier--to the position of clerk. She won unanimously and became the first board newcomer to be elected as a board officer in 11 years, when Ralston was named clerk.