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Nicky campaigning with students
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WE WON!!
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! After a serious and sustained effort
to prepare for our November 4 reelection campaign, I am thrilled to
report that WE HAVE WON even before any votes are cast! I was the only
candidate to file official papers with the registrar of voters in time
to be placed on the ballot. According to the election rules I am now
the official winner of the election.
I want to thank all of the
hundreds of people who contributed to my reelection effort with their
time, energy and pocketbooks. I am deeply grateful for your faith in me
and in the work we are doing to help the Peralta Colleges live up to
their full promise. We got a lot done in the first four years and now
without the need to spend more time and money on my reelection
campaign we can get back to the serious work of creating a community
college district and a society that works for all of us.
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Reginald James holding the "Easy Pass" |
Peralta Student “Easy Pass” Provides Low-Cost AC Transit Access
Among the successes we can celebrate, this fall, the Peralta Colleges
instituted an "easy pass" program to provide a deeply discounted AC
Transit bus pass for all full-time Peralta students. For just $50 per
semester, any full-time Peralta student can buy the pass, which allows
them 24-hour access to any bus in the system, including the trans-bay
busses into San Francisco. Normally, this pass would cost a student
$116 per MONTH. Thus, this deal potentially saves the student almost
$1300 per year, and even more if they had been paying for the bus one
ride at a time. This is money they can now spend on books, school
supplies, food, rent and other things that will allow them to be
successful students.
Working with me on making this project happen were AC Transit Director
Chris Peeples, Peralta student trustees Reginald James and Marlene
Hurd, as well as Trustee Abel Guillen whom we helped to elect 2 years
ago. This is a fabulous victory for all of us.
Click here to watch a video on the Easy Pass program. |
Oakland Green Jobs Corp Launches at Laney College
Another Peralta success story that I have been part of is the Oakland Green Jobs Corp that will launch on Monday October 20th. Through this partnership between Laney College and the Cypress Mandella Regional Training Center, 40 young Oakland residents who have been locked out of economic opportunity will now have a training pathway into the emerging green economy where they'll have a chance to land a high-skilled, living wage job. This pilot program is funded in part through a 1 year $250,000 grant from the City of Oakland. Participants in the program will have wrap-around services that will include financial aid, hard and soft skill job training, career and college counseling, and a paid internship in the renewable energy and green building industries.
From my dual positions as a Peralta Board member and a board member on the Oakland Apollo Alliance, I was excited to participate in the planning, development and lobbying for this effort from the ground up. Now, we need to keep our eyes on the prize to insure both that the execution of this pilot goes well and that we can find a stable, long-term source of funding to keep it going.
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Keep on Keepin’ On
While there is much to celebrate throughout the District, I wish I
could say that all of the news from Peralta is good news.
Unfortunately, serious setbacks continue to dog the District,
particularly in the area of financial aid disbursements and technology
planning.
I am committed to fixing both the short-term problems of
getting aid to students, but also the long-term systemic problems that continue to plague us. I have faith that we CAN fix this broken
system. I have faith that the men and women who work in the District
have the skill and heart and desire to transform Peralta into a center
for student success and learning that will be second to none. But, it's
going to take time and a lot of very hard work, persistence and
relentless faith that, "Yes, we can!" Thank you for having the faith in
me to take leadership in this vital project.
Nicky
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Fundraiser for Marlon McWilson, Peralta Colleges Board Candidate
When: Thursday October 23, 6-8 pm
Location: Luka's Taproom and Lounge, 2221 Broadway at Grand, Oakland, CA
Please
also come out to help elect Marlon McWilson to the Peralta Board for
the Area 2 seat serving East Oakland. Marlon is challenging the
incumbent, Marcie Hodge. He is endorsed by Peralta's unions
representing the faculty and classified workers, the Alameda County
Democratic Party, the Green Party, East Bay Young Dems, the Alameda
County Central Labor Council, as well as 5 of the sitting
trustees-myself, Abel Guillen, Cy Gulassa, Linda Handy and Bill Riley.
Marlon is an active advocate in his community for youth mentoring, food security, and educational opportunity.
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Click here to learn more about Marlon's campaign
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The Vote No on Prop 8 Campaign!!!
So, while I have already won my race, there is much else still at stake
in this election. In particular, PLEASE VOTE NO ON PROP 8, the
marriage equality ban. If passed, this measure will write into our
state constitution discriminatory practices that single out one group
of people to be denied rights that every other person in the state
enjoys. Please make it a priority to vote No on Prop 8 and to tell your
friends and family why you are voting no. It's unfair and it's wrong.
Please volunteer an afternoon or evening to help the No on 8 campaign. http://www.noonprop8.com
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Click here to watch a video on why Prop. 8 needs to be defeated.
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