Tony Fellow's Platform
There are a number of
reasons I am running. The August 21 headline in the Pasadena
Star-News read "PCC in need of leadership" best illustrates the
first reason--the need for leadership. Of course, the college
needs a permanent president. But it needs individuals who know
how to deal with college budgets, and college curricula.
I am very proud of my record
as a leader. Eighteen years ago following my first election to
the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District, I helped
change a sleepy water board into a powerful entity in the San
Gabriel Valley. We launched one of the nation's most successful
water recycling projects with $25 million from the federal
millions of dollars.
As a 16-year member of the
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, I worked on
solving federal and state issues dealing with water quality and
quantity. I am particularly proud of my work with Senator
Dianne Feinstein in trying to bring about a solution to the
Bay-Delta problem, the removal of uranium tailings near the
Colorado River in Moab, Utah, and the building of one of
Southern California's largest reservoirs at Diamond Valley Lake
in Hemet.
At California State
University, Fullerton, I am considered one of the innovative and
accomplished department chairs and have been honored as a
distinguished professor. I know how to balance a budget and how
an institution of higher education should operate.
As a member of the PCC
board, I intend to:
--Fight for modernization of
classrooms and technology;
--Demand cutting edge
curriculums in skills and academic courses;
--Propose satellite campuses
and online courses;
--Support administrators who
know how to work creatively within an era of decreasing budgets
and increasing demand for higher education;
--Promote policies that
facilitate more students transferring to four-year
universities;
--Support Associate Degrees
for students desiring a vocational or applied degree; and
--Find funds to subsidize
student study abroad programs.
In addition, PCC, one of the
gems of California higher education, was not in compliance for
the first time in 80 years when it went up for accreditation
recently. That is a very black mark on the current board.
I am a very hard worker, an
innovator who strives for creativity. And in these tough
budgetary times, the roughest for higher education in the
history of this state, we need someone who has been through the
fire of difficult budgetary times. I have no doubts I can do
this job and do it with distinction as I have all my positions. |