Candidate Name: Leah LaCroix
Phone Number: 415.919.9441
Web site: -
E-mail: LeahLSF@gmail.com
Name of Campaign Manager: Traci Mysliwiec - 415Traci@gmail.com
How much do you expect to spend in this contest: Approx. 20K-30K to cover campaign essentials (staff, literature, slate mailer contributions, etc.).
Major Endorsements:
Partial list of endorsements include:
Susan Solomon, CCSF Trustee
Vick Chung, CCSF Trustee
Anita Martinez, CCSF Trustee
Connie Chan, Supervisor of District 1
Myrna Melgar, Supervisor of District 7
Alida Fisher, SFUSD Board Member
Aaron Peskin, Former President of the Board of Supervisors and Supervisor of District 3
Gordon Mar, Former Supervisor District 4
Norman Yee, Former President of the Board of Supervisors and Supervisor of District 7
Bevan Dufty, Former Supervisor District 8
Peter Gallotta, Member, San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee (DCCC)
Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club
American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Local 2121 - CCSF's Faculty Union!
California Working Families Party
League of Pissed-off Voters
Incumbent whose votes are most similar to the way you would vote:
Susan Solomon, Anita Martinez, Vick Chung, Aliya Chisti, Luis Zamora
Incumbent who votes least similarly to the way you would vote: -
1. Do you have practical ideas on how CCSF can be adequately funded?
One of the largest concerns facing City College is stagnant revenue. Enrollment is a primary revenue stream for the college. Unfortunately, the college's main revenue generating measures have stagnated under hold harmless. The long-term way out of this precarious situation is to grow our enrollment and invest in students.
As Trustee, I would focus on crafting a budget that invests in our students through increasing course offerings. With sustainable and strategic investments into instruction, our enrollment numbers will grow and we will meet the criteria to return to the Student Centered Funding Formula.
Right now the college is failing to meet our students' needs. With more than a 1,000 students sitting on waitlists across essential courses (English, Chemistry, Biology, Accounting, etc.), the college is in essence leaving revenue on the table. Moreover, our students are ready and willing to attend CCSF, but cannot trust that the courses needed to advance their academic careers are going to be available when they actually need them. How can we expect degree-seeking students to plan their education here if they can't rely on whether the courses they need will even be offered: If we prove students can trust in CCSF again, and we offer the classes they want and need, students will return to CCSF and so will revenue.
Second, CCSF currently holds reserves far above what the state requires - over the past 5 fiscal years the college has amassed over 70M in reserves. Claims of structural deficits are either greatly exaggerated or deliberate misinterpretations. Our students, faculty, and staff are the heart of the college so our discretionary revenue should be invested back into the people who make CCSF work.
We should NOT sit on those funds while the college shrinks. We must have a board that is willing to invest in the college instead of starving it until it is too weak to survive. Healthy reserves exist to be used at a moment exactly like this one. We can and must invest wisely, strategically, and sustainably. The highest-return investment is growing enrollment. That is the only way off the hold harmless floor. That means strengthening the noncredit-to-credit pipeline. It also means building out noncredit certificate programs, which the state funds at its highest per-student rate. Every student we bring in this way grows our revenue formula toward the point where we escape the hold harmless freeze.
If the college maintains its posture of reduced course offerings and cutting essentials, CCSF will continue to lose out on enrollment and revenue thus harming our students and the college long term. Trustees need to be smart and sustainable with our budget decisions, not reactionary. The college has trimmed more than enough courses and faculty, this approach is unsustainable if in fact the goal is to be an educational institution.
The college cannot continue to balance the budget on the backs of our students, educators, and employees, and expect to have a secure long-term financial future.
2. Why are you running for College Board?
In so many ways City College has always been part of my life. While I am a CSU grad who double-majored in Urban Studies & Planning and Political Science (go Gators!), my higher education career began at CCSF as a dual-enrolled high school student. I attended K-12 along Ocean Avenue and have lived in the Ingleside for 20+ years. I seriously grew up on the doorsteps of City College! My mom and two older sisters attended CCSF, as have countless friends over the years. Frankly, we all know someone whose life has been touched by City College.
I believe in City College and the power of education as a tool for economic mobility, educational advancement, and community building. I am running to ensure City College of San Francisco will be around for another 90 years, and not just in name only.
CCSF is a vital institution and economic engine for San Francisco, and deserves our full protection. Trustees are the guardians of the college, ensuring the mission and our students remain at the forefront of all decisions. Trustees must be accountable and promote transparency. Our students, faculty, and staff deserve a Trustee that will keep their interests at heart. My decades of public service and policy advocacy in San Francisco, including advocating for food security, community and students needs, have prepared me to be the fierce guardian CCSF needs.
My goals in governing CCSF include;
Bringing stability and a long-term vision to the Board
Righting-the-ship - preparing CCSF for its next chapter
Re-establishing trust in the college by ensuring the courses students need are offered
Improving transparency through public-input and oversight
Growing enrollment strategically and sustainably
CCSF has overcome a crisis, now we must rebuild, grow, and transition out of perpetual crisis mode.
Moreover, running for CCSF Trustee and serving on the board isn't a "political stepping stone" to me. We are talking about real people and their real lives/futures are in the balance. Our students, faculty, and staff are the heart of CCSF. They are who I'm doing this for, and who I am accountable to. I've spent my near 20 year political career advocating for and defending San Francisco's young people and marginalized communities, now I'm ready to take the experience I've gained to defend City College.
3. How are you currently involved in the Community College -- or how were you involved in the past?
I attended CCSF as a dual enrolled student my junior and senior year of high school. I have advocated for Free City since its inception alongside the community. In my role as DCCC first vice chair, I have endorsed measures and candidates that seek to protect City College - from past trustees Ivy Lee and Shanell Williams to current trustees Susan Solomon and Aliya Chisti, and many in between. I am deeply committed to ensuring City College will be around for another 90 years and beyond. Right now the college is at a crossroads, and must navigate and plan for the near future to ensure our long-term future.
4. What is your stance on public and private partnerships within the College?
There are unique benefits to public and private partnerships. However, the benefit must be mutual because at the end of the day City College of San Francisco is a public educational institution and not a corporation. I welcome partnerships that help advance the mission of the college, and will serve our students and campus community without losing the heart of what makes City College the beloved and vital San Francisco institution - being a community college.
5. What is your position on Free City College? How should it be changed, if at all?
I fully support Free City and the grant program, and strongly oppose any cuts or reductions to the program. Free City College is essential to offering San Franciscans a chance to enrich themselves and increase their own economic opportunities. I strongly support its funding and its permanence. San Francisco voters have overwhelmingly approved the funding structure for this important program, and I see my position as a Trustee and life-long San Franciscan to advocate alongside the community to ensure the program remains. I would protect it fiercely by advocating at the legislative level - working with the Board of Supervisors and Mayor to align efforts and legislative language, help champion any future ballot measure for Free City, and educate San Franciscans on the program. Renewing Free City funding will take all of us!
6. If elected to the Board, how would you ensure that you and the public would receive the college's draft budget with sufficient time to review it thoroughly before adopting it?
The college needs to rebuild trust with the campus community, and the San Francisco community as a whole. Transparency and sufficient time for public review of the budget is an essential step towards said goal. I am committed to working with my Trustee Board colleagues and the Chancellor to devise strategies to 1) present a draft budget well in advance, 2) host multiple listening/public input sessions across our campuses, and 3) incorporate community feedback in advance of the Trustee board adopting the proposed budget.
7. What is your position on selling campus properties?
Under the right circumstances, I would be open to using a portion of CCSF's real estate holdings to pursue 100% affordable housing for students and faculty. In whatever way the college uses its facilities and land (sale, development, etc.), these decisions must always be done in an effort to better the lives of our students and overall campus community. Moreover, these decisions must be done with full transparency and public input. This point is non-negotiable.
8. Do you feel there is enough transparency or public disclosure of the Board and the college? How would you change things?
The college follows the Brown Act and other noticing requirements for public meetings that apply to the Trustee Board. As elected leaders and public servants, I believe the Trustee Board and administration can always improve transparency and public input - especially on issues that impact students and the campus community. The closure of the downtown campus is a prime example of decisions being made without public input or notice.
Over the course of my public service, I have learned that maintaining strong communication - in this instance with stakeholders, students, fellow trustees, labor partners, faculty and staff, the administration, and Chancellor - is the key to a strong institution and effective governance.
Opening the lines of communication, allowing for public input and oversight in important decisions, and being transparent is the cornerstone of protecting the college and its reputation long term. Furthermore, no decision at the college should be made without direct input from the people who will be impacted.
9. Have you attended the Community College Board meeting? Would you change public comment policy at the meetings? If so, how?
Yes, I have attended CCSF Trustee Board meetings. I have concerns about capping the total amount of time for public comment (e.g., 30 minutes total). Part of being a public official is to listen to the public and take their input on board. How can the Trustee Board be fully responsive or accountable to the campus community while limiting the public's time to express their input: This is something of concern even with the SF DCCC most recently. I would work with fellow trustees and the Board President to revisit this policy, ensuring adequate time for public comment. At the end of the day, public servants are here to listen to and serve the public.
10. How will you increase quality child care at ALL campuses?
I am committed to working with the Chancellor and City partners - Department of Early Childhood (DEC) and Department of Children, Youth, and their Families (DCYF) to name a few - in an effort to expand child care access on all our CCSF campuses. I would prioritize reserving space within each campus floorplan for childcare, and help our robust network of childcare providers to be able to host their services in that space.
I will always consider the whole person, in this case our students, when making decisions for and about the college. Our students' needs don't end at classes and books, but with housing, food, transit and childcare. We need to address the overall affordability for our students, and the needs of working people to continue to live and prosper. I'll work with city leaders to develop programs to support students as they pursue their academic goals, from asking SFMTA to offer discounted transit passes for our students to working with local childcare facilities to create economical options for our students who are also parents. I will meet with CCSF student leaders and stakeholders to better ascertain how existing programs at the college work, and how the college (and its programs) can better serve them.
I have long worked on these issues as a youth and community advocate. As trustee, I look forward to continuing these efforts to ensure CCSF students have all their needs met.
11. How will you work to counter and prevent profiling and police harassment on campus? What is your position on police firearms on campus?
Campus safety is critical to the all-around needs of the CCSF community, and all of our students deserve safe environments where they can prioritize learning. As a young woman of color, I am especially attuned to the prevailing harm profiling and harassment causes in BIPOC communities. As Trustee, I am committed to working with SFPD, campus police, and all stakeholders to foster thriving learning environments free from harassment while ensuring the safety of our campus communities. These steps include de-escalation and anti-bias training for all campus police.
I personally know someone who was attacked at gunpoint on campus, it was a harrowing experience. While I personally do not like, support, or own firearms, the unfortunate reality is there may be instances where police might require that tool to respond to an escalating situation. I aim to work with campus police and SFPD to ensure descalation tactics are the first response, and firearms are only allowed on campus when absolutely necessary to respond to aggravated threats.
12. What is your position on allowing noncitizens the right to vote for College Board and other local elections? Did you take a public position on previous ballot initiatives on the subject?
Yes, I would support noncitizen City College Students who live in San Francisco being able to vote in College Board elections. I am in support of allowing non-citizen parents the ability to vote in school board elections.
13. What are your views of transportation and pedestrian safety to, from and around City College campuses? What, if anything, would you change, and how would you go about making those changes?
Campus safety is critical to the all-around needs of the CCSF community. Isolated and dimly lit places are especially concerning for women and vulnerable people. Concern for one's safety should not be a barrier to accessing education. One thing I would advocate, and find funding for immediately, is better lighting at night along our campuses/centers. I would work with fellow trustees and the Chancellor in prioritizing this effort.
Public transportation is the great equalizer. With many San Franciscans being transit dependent, it's especially important that we're able to get our students, residents, and visitors alike from point-A to point-B. San Francisco deserves a robust, reliable, well connected, and fully-funded public transportation system. I will advocate for more local, state, and federal funding, help promote ballot measures, and uplift the work of local transit advocates. As someone who grew up transit dependent, and still relies on public transportation today, I am deeply committed to working with our elected leaders and transportation agencies to ensure we meet this goal.
I am the legislative architect and champion of Free Muni for Youth. As Trustee, I am fully committed to assessing how CCSF can provide fare-free or discounted transit passes for our students, working with SFMTA and BART as historically CCSF students arrive on campus using many different modes and providers of public transportation.
CCSF Ocean campus alone is in the middle of a transit hub - BART, Muni, and the 280 freeway. As Trustee, I will advocate for every dollar available to ensure reliable public transit and improve pedestrian safety. I will aide in championing measures that protect our critical public services. CCSF is also among the list of critical public institutions that need protection against long term precarity. Public leaders must think about the whole person when making budget decisions - many CCSF students rely on public transportation so reliable service is just as essential to their educational needs as increased course offerings. Pedestrian safety is equally as important.
14. What is your position on military recruiting on campus?
I have such deep respect for our service members and their commitment to serving our nation. I have family members in each branch of service, and friends who have begun their service straight out of high school. I do not approach this question lightly. With that in mind, I am weary of military recruiting on college campuses. I would work with the Chancellor and administration to devise a plan and agreement that explicitly details limited military presence on our campuses which must not disrupt the primary goal and mission of the college - being an education institution and serving our students first and foremost.