In unopposed Cabrillo College trustee races, name change is on back burner

Four out of the seven seats on the Cabrillo College governing board are up for election this year, but there won’t be any contested races for the board in this year’s election. Only one candidate filed for each seat and all are unopposed. 

Incumbents Christina Cuevas, Steve Trujillo and Manuel Bersamin and newcomer Ken Wagman will all be appointed to their seats rather than appear on the ballot.

While Cuevas and Trujillo have been on the board since 2014 and 2020, respectively, Bersamin was appointed to the board in September to replace Martha Vega, who resigned with a few months left on her term in July. Bersamin faced no opposition in his bid to run for a full term in the position.

The lack of competition for the seats is disappointing to some community members, and to the candidates themselves. But as some trustees told Lookout, it’s also not surprising after years of intense debate and criticism directed at board members locally and nationally. After the Cabrillo board explored changing the name of the college and voted to change it two years ago, members endured months of contentious meetings, emails and letters. 

For several months, the anger toward the board during the name-change issue led many to believe that opponents to the name change would field a slate of trustee candidates for the 2024 election. The board later voted to postpone the discussion of the name change to 2028. 

Trujillo said he thinks people aren’t running for the board because it’s a difficult position to be in and isn’t compensated. 

“No.1, the job pays nothing,” he said. “No. 2, it was a greatly controversial last two years due to the name change, and many simply do not want to deal with having to make a controversial decision.” 

Trujillo is one of the most vocal supporters among the trustees of changing the college’s name.

Trustee Rachael Spencer, who decided not to seek reelection, said she thinks people stopped being active about the name-change issue and didn’t field candidates who would oppose it because they think the issue is over. Spencer was the only trustee to vote against changing the name. 

“I think most people think it’s a dead issue,” she said, adding that the board’s biggest concern is the budget. 

Wagman, 70, said he decided to run because he wanted to continue contributing to the community college system through his upcoming retirement. 

A math professor, Wagman has taught at Gavilan College in Gilroy for 30 years. Before Gavilan, his first part-time job was teaching at Cabrillo, and he was hired as a one-year emergency full-time replacement there in 1989. 

He feels his experience as a union negotiator and being good with numbers can help the college as it prepares to endure budget challenges in the coming years. 

Wagman says it’s unfortunate that so many seats are unopposed this year, but he also understands why someone wouldn’t run considering the stressful demands of the job. While his kids were in Santa Cruz City Schools, he was elected to the school board in 2004 and served for 10 years. 

“If I hadn’t already been on a board, I would not have volunteered [this time],” he said. “So I can totally understand why all four seats are appointed. … It really makes a statement about how intimidated I think some people have made board members feel.”

He said on a personal level, he would support changing the name of the college. However, he’s not certain he would have voted to change it two years ago. 

“I would have supported the name change,” he said. “When it was happening, and it became clear that the community wasn’t behind it, as a trustee, I would have voted against it when all the craziness took place. But personally, I would support it.”

Wagman agreed with the board’s decision to postpone the discussion for a few years. 

“My sense is, there’s going to have to be an awful lot of education,” he said. “The community has to be behind it.” 

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