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Not happy

Dear Editor,

There are curious things to be found in the mail these days.

Last week I found a campaign postcard with disparaging and dismissive statements about me. This postcard featured the same type of tiresome attacks men have leveled against women for ages; dismissing a woman’s talents, skills and experience and puffing up his own. As a candidate for Pasadena City College Board of Trustees, I have focused my campaign on innovative and creative ways to make PCC even better. Unfortunately, my opponent decided to take the low road and launched personal attacks against me.

In one example, my opponent took jabs at the City Commission I currently serve on. Since we have both had the distinction of serving on a city commission, he wanted to make the public believe that his commissions are somehow more “important” or “valuable.” He does this by misnaming and mislabeling my commission to make voters believe that my Commission’s role isn’t valuable. Clearly, he has no understanding of what my Commission is tasked to do. The South Lake Parking Place Commission threads through the knotted contractual relationship among the city and the many property owners of the large parking lots on the east side of Lake Ave. Service on this commission requires technical skills that my opponent must not possess nor be aware of. Service requires the understanding of commercial real estate transactions, their tax consequences and future forecasting for delivery logistics and transportation modes and needs in our city. My many years of experience as a successful business owner gives me the insight I need to serve the commission well. And, that’s exactly the type of experience PCC needs to make sure its students succeed.

Perhaps more upsetting is my opponent’s characterization of my relationship to the field of education. Again, he is utterly unaware of my history of deep and meaningful involvement with educational policy. I was born into a family of educators. Both of my parents were public school teachers in the San Gabriel Valley who later launched a successful business serving teachers and educators across the country (a business I later took over and ran as one of the nation’s most successful women-owned operations). I have attended countless educational conferences for decades. Attending symposia and policy discussions at the International Reading Association, the California Reading Association, National Association for the Education of Young Children, National School Supply and Equipment Association, and more for over forty years. My life is steeped in education and educational policy. With a son currently earning his PhD in educational policy, and parents as educators, educational policy for me is not an occasional consideration at a monthly meeting but is a dinner-table discussion of great interest to me and my family.

In addition, my dedication to education and my service to our community have earned me the endorsements of a diverse group of education leaders and neighborhood advocates, including:

Dr. Vera Vignes, former Superintendent of Pasadena Unified School District*, Larry Torres, President Pasadena Unified School District School Board*, George Caplan, Esq., former President of the California Community College System Board of Governors*, Bill Thomson, former Mayor of Pasadena and former member of PCC Board of Trustees member*, Mic Hansen, former City of Pasadena Planning Commission Chair*, Gary Moody, past president of the Pasadena branch of the NAACP*, and Rabbi Joshua Levine Grater, Executive Director of Friends In Deed*

I am optimistic that voters will discern the difference between a candidate that poses as an educational advocate and expert and one who lives and breathes educational policy and advocates for the best possible college for our students. I welcome voters to contact me directly at (626) 744-9533 with any questions about my campaign.

Thank you,

Tammy Silver
Candidate for Pasadena City College Board of Trustees

 

*Titles for identification purposes only. No organizational endorsement is implied.

 

Got something to say, email Managing Editor Andre’ Coleman, at andrec@pasadenanowmagazine.com