College District Board Candidacy Declared

An Oxnard school board member announced his candidacy for the Ventura County Community College District board on Tuesday.

Art Hernandez, president of the Oxnard Union High School District board, will run for the 5th District seat representing Oxnard and Port Hueneme that will soon be vacated by Pete Tafoya.

Tafoya announced his resignation last week, accepting a fellowship to study at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. Tafoya has served on the board for 11 years and is in the middle of his third term.

Hernandez, 43, will complete his first four-year term with the high school district in November. He previously served five years on the Rio Elementary District board.

“Because of my experience as a board member at the elementary and high school levels, I would bring a different perspective to the board,” Hernandez said.

If elected to the board, Hernandez said, he would like to expand partnerships between the community colleges and local high schools.

The community college district board is expected to decide this week whether to decide Tafoya’s successor in November or hold a special election. Hernandez is director of the Job and Career Center in downtown Oxnard, part of the county government’s welfare-to-work program. He is married with three children.