Maddox Resigns as Rancho Santiago Trustee

Saying he was forced out, Trustee Charles W. “Pete” Maddox resigned Monday from the Rancho Santiago Community College District board.

The resignation is effective Dec. 15, the day he will move one mile east of his home to another home outside District Area 2, which he represents. The majority of his colleagues on the board had refused to change the district’s boundaries so he could keep his seat.

Earlier this year, Maddox, 49, proposed turning his seat into an at-large post. But a board majority opposed his proposal.

“I’m being forced out strictly on a residency requirement,” said Maddox, a board member for seven years. “I shouldn’t be forced off the board because I’m moving down the street. I should be forced off the board if I’m a crook or unethical. . . . But the majority rules, and I honestly believe that it’s a better place if we all follow the rules even if we don’t like them.”

Though legally he could keep his seat on the board by registering to vote at a rented home in District 2, the 14-square-mile area that covers part of Santa Ana and a sliver of Orange, Maddox said he opted not to “bend the rules.”

“I came in December 1990, saying, ‘You need to follow the rules,’ and I’m going out because I really believe that,” he said.

Maddox said he considered his time on the board worthwhile.

“Having a family is about the only thing more rewarding than serving in public office and doing an honorable job,” he said.