College Board

As one of the two challengers you described as front-runners who could oust Los Angeles Community College Board trustee Patrick Owens from Office No. 2, I want to congratulate Elizabeth Garfield on her endorsement by The Times. (April 15).

I believe either Garfield or myself would definitely provide the board with greater substance than Owens has. Naturally, I believe my qualifications as a longtime educator, businessman and communications specialist would provide a diverse and significant addition to the board.

I also want to state that I am not one of those Garfield “detractors” who think she doesn’t have a right to run because of her marriage to Wallace Knox, the college board president.

But a more important issue is diversity of thought. If Garfield and the two incumbent trustees are victorious, the board will have a voting bloc of four attorneys who have a history of collaborating with the powerful AFT Guild. When concerned citizens argue before a like-minded board, will they encounter independent thinkers or will they be faced with an already decided agenda?

JOE ORTIZ

North Hollywood