Zeke Hernandez, a candidate for Area 1 of the Rancho Santiago Community College District, is trying to pull a fast one, using the ballot title of “Adult Education Director.” That is a complete falsehood!

Hernandez admitted in a letter he wrote to the Rancho Santiago Community College District’s Chancellor, just last year, to being retired. That letter was part of Hernandez’ application to the Measure Q Bond Oversight Committee.

Furthermore  the application Hernandez completed to serve on the RSCCD Measure Q Bond committee states an applicant cannot be a district vendor. However during interviews this Monday with the current Rancho Santiago Community College District Trustees, it emerged that Hernandez is the chief executive of a district contractor, according to the Voice of OC.

Since last fall, Hernandez has served as interim executive director of the nonprofit SER-Jobs for Progress, which the district hires to provide education and job training services to the public. The district’s board approved $511,000 in contracts with Hernandez’s nonprofit on June 13.

Hernandez told board members Monday that he serves “in a voluntary capacity” at the nonprofit. “I don’t take a salary,” he said.

That means Hernandez is nothing more than a volunteer and he should not be allowed to use the title “Adult Education Director.”

If Mr. Hernandez’s position as an Adult Education Director is unpaid, and he has a principle profession or occupation (retired), then sections (a) and (b) of the Election Code, as noted below, would seem to apply and he should use that profession or occupation as his ballot designation.

UNACCEPTABLE BALLOT DESIGNATIONS: (1) The following types of activities are distinguished from professions, vocations, and occupations and are not acceptable as ballot designations pursuant to Elections Code § 13107(a)(3):

(a) Avocations: An avocation is a casual or occasional activity, diversion or hobby pursued principally for enjoyment and is in addition to the candidate’s principal profession, vocation or occupation. Avocations may include, but are not limited to: Hobbies, social activities, volunteer work (except as set forth under “Community Volunteer”), and matters pursued as an amateur. CA Admin Code, Title 2, Division 7, § 20716(b)(1) Example: (a) If a person is a PTA President (not a paid position), and does not have a principal profession, vocation, or occupation, then that person could use” Community Volunteer” as his/her Ballot Designation but could not use “PTA President”. “PTA President” is considered a “status (see “c: Statuses”);

(b) If the person is a PTA President (not a paid position), and also has a principle profession, vocation, or occupation, he/she must use his/her principle profession, vocation, or occupation as his/her Ballot Designation; (c) If the person is a PTA President (not a paid position) and also has a principle profession, vocation, or occupation, he/she could not use both the principle profession, vocation, or occupation and “Community Volunteer” (even if the designation meets the three-word requirement) because “Community Volunteer” must stand alone. (b) Pro Forma Professions, Vocations, and Occupations: Pro forma professions, vocations or occupations are positions held by the candidate which consume little or none of the candidate’s time and which, by their nature, are voluntary or for which the candidate is not compensated. Pro forma professions, vocations and occupations may include, but are not limited to: Honorary peace officer, honorary chairperson, honorary professor, goodwill ambassador, official host or hostess and the like. CA Admin Code, Title 2, Division 7, § 20716(b)(2) (c) Statuses: A status is a state, condition, social position or legal relation of the candidate to another person, persons or the community as a whole. A status is generic in nature and generally fails to identify with any particular specificity the manner by which the candidate earns his or her livelihood or spends the substantial majority of his or her time. Examples of a status include, but are not limited to: Veteran, proponent, reformer, scholar, founder, philosopher, philanthropist, mother of eleven, activist, patriot, taxpayer, concerned citizen, Kiwanis Club President, PTA President, husband, and wife. CA Admin Code, Title 2, Division 7, § 20716(b)(3)

Clearly Mr. Hernandez is a volunteer and does not have standing as a paid Adult Education Director therefore he should not be allowed to use that title as a candidate for Area 1 of the Rancho Santiago Community College District.

When a candidate for public office lies to the voters right from the start that is a very red flag indeed. That the current RSCCD Board of Trustees majority is endorsing this guy speaks volumes. Clearly they can count on him to keep covering up their many shenanigans including their ridiculous program in Saudi Arabia, their huge and expensive construction overruns and mistakes and their awful travel expenditures. Hernandez is and always will be a political hack and that is why the rest of the hacks on the RSCCD Board of Trustees have placed their trust in him. We should not do so!