Facts About The PCC Race Support Linda Wah | VOTE TUESDAY JUNE 7

The PCC Trustee Seat is not to be trifled with. Proven experience and high-level leadership is crucial.

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PHOTO: Linda Wah, President of The California Community College Trustees (CCCT)

Your vote PCC Trustee vote is an important one: to elect a candidate that represents YOU in education decisions at PCC that affect over 20,000 students and hundreds of millions of dollars in funding.

The highly contested race that deserves your attention is for the Pasadena City College Board of Trustees – Area 5, that covers South Pasadena, San Marino, and Temple City.

Two candidates are running: Linda Wah – Current PCC Board Trustee, and Kristine Kwong – Lawyer.

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Linda Wah:

PCC Trustee or Scholastic Leadership experience. 12 years, elected position.

Wah’s track record shows her work for PCC at the local and state levels.  Her work has yielded millions of dollars in funding for the students and facilities of PCC like the Career/Workforce programs, Financial Aid and addressing pandemic issues, to name a few.

As the current elected PCC Trustee for the area, Wah has held leadership positions at the state level including President of the California Community College Trustees Board and served on the National Association of Community College Trustees, where she advocates for critical resources for students, and is on the finance and audit committee. Wah helped lead work on the Trustee Diversity Equity Inclusion initiatives and is a co-founder of the Asia Pacific Islander Caucus and the Women’s Caucus.

Research shows Wah prioritizes students’ needs. She advocates for programs that ensure students can afford tuition, textbooks and transportation to help minimize the financial requirements at PCC, while simultaneously clearing the pathway for higher education and vocational training.

Linda Wah has earned the endorsements of national, state, and local leaders such as:
Diana Mahmud, South Pasadena Councilmember, Jon Primuth, South Pasadena Councilmember, Evelyn Zneimer, South Pasadena Councilmember, Dr. Richard Schneider, South Pasadena Councilmember (ret.), Bob Joe, South Pasadena Councilmember (ret.), Odom Stamps, South Pasadena Councilmember (ret.), Sally Kilby, South Pasadena City Clerk (ret.), John Fisher, Commissioner, South Pasadena Transportation, John Kennedy, Pasadena City Councilmember, Felicia Williams, Pasadena Councilmember.

​Kristine Kwong:

PCC Trustee or Scholastic Leadership experience. None.

Community service. She serves on the Parks and Recreation Commission for the City of South Pasadena and formerly on the South Pasadena Transportation Commission.

Research shows Kwong prioritizes her client’s needs. As an education lawyer, she has represented both public and private sector clients on a variety of operational issues.

Kwong’s endorsements include: I-Chinese American Political Action Committee (IAPAC), Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, Local 12 – International Union of Operating Engineers, Calvin Lo, San Marino Chinese American Club (ret.), Bob Joe, South Pasadena Councilmember (ret).

Court records show Kwong’s involvement in at least 20 lawsuits going back over twenty years.

Questions have been raised in the South Pasadena community about why Kristine Kwong’s campaign launched ‘attack advertising’ against Linda Wah. Is there a hidden agenda? As Kristine Kwong is an education attorney, more questions have been raised about potential conflicts of interest if she were to hold a trustee seat.

For example, Kwong’s mass-mail campaign messaging has stated: “Linda Wah is Wasting Your Money”. Another statement from the Kristine Kwong campaign is: “Linda Wah is spending too much on her travels and not on our students” and “Linda Wah has spent $51,915 on air travel…” with no reference to time frame, or purpose of the travel. To shed some light on her campaign statement; here is a link to the travel expenses so you can see for yourself (418 pages PDF): Click Here

So, what about all that travel? During Wah’s 7 years of documented official trustee business travel, reports show Linda was instrumental in the success of several major PCC Services improvement programs and projects, such as a $42 million appropriation for PCC’s Armen Sarafian Building. “The funds will go toward the demolition and reconstruction of the science building, which was determined to be an earthquake hazard in 2012 and which had been sitting empty since then”, according to the PCC website report.

The decision for the PCC Trustee, District 5 hangs in the balance for South Pasadena voters.  The outcome of your vote will affect thousands of students for years to come.