Teresa Patterson, Executive Director of Legislative and Public Affairs for State Center Community College District, will address the Fresno City College Academic Senate on Nov 14 to explain the decision to terminate discussions with the coordinators of Hillary Clinton’s camp about the presidential candidate’s potential visit to FCC.
“I will share with Academic Senate the information regarding the Ed Code section that prohibits political rallies on campus,” Patterson said in an email interview. “I will also discuss plans to communicate to both internal and external groups what is allowed by law and what is not in terms of political policy.”
According to Patterson, Education Code 7054 prevented the college from moving forward with the Clinton campaign. Patterson previously told Rampage reporters the campaign team requested a political rally on campus and she stated a rally was clearly against the law.
But former Assembly member, Sarah Reyes, disagrees with Patterson’s interpretation of the Ed code. “I know this Ed Code back and forth, not just this section; show me where rally is an evil word,” said Reyes. “I will challenge [anyone] in that district or in that college. Show me in the Ed Code where “rally” is in there.”
Reyes who occupied the position now held by Patterson said, “I used to work at the district, we had rallies,” Reyes said. “We had visitors come that were running for office and we called them rallies, and we never violated the law.”
She continued, “How can Bill Stewart, the former chancellor of that district, make it happen and the current administration cannot? “You’ll find no violations in the Ed Code which holds a rally and nothing has ever been challenged,” she stated.
Reyes said sections of the Ed Code are probably 50 years old without altercations. “It’s not new; they didn’t do that this year; they didn’t even do it six years ago when I was there,” she said.
Before Clinton came to Fresno, her campaign team had made initial contact with the office of Juan Arambula on Oct 10. Reyes “took the lead” in presenting the camp with viable venues. On Oct 11, a volunteer from Reyes’s office with members of the campaign toured the venues which included FCC’s campus. Before noon on Oct 12, Michael Guerra (FCC Vice President of Administrative Services) communicated to the Clinton campaign that FCC did not wish to move forward with discussions.
This timeline, presented by Reyes, raises questions in regards to previous statements by Patterson. She had previously told Rampage reporters she had offered alternatives to the campaign that would not violate the Ed Code. Patterson added, however, “Before we a chance to have dialog, I heard that they had already decided to go to Fresno High.”
Reyes disagrees with Patterson’s characterization of the negotiations. “They cut us off, we didn’t cut them off,” she said, adding that the decision to end discussions was handed down in less than 24 hours. “So, they’re saying now, ‘Well, we need more time to figure it out’…It was not going to be another week and a half before she [Clinton] even showed up,” Reyes said.
Patterson stated, “I should have met with the campaign personnel myself; since the rally was a political activity, and in violation of the Education Code, I should have explained the implications of the law myself and at that time and outlined the options.”
“I thought I communicated the options to FCC personnel, but the bottom line is, it is my job as the District Legislative person, and I will make sure that never happens again,” she added.
The Ed Code cited by Patterson as the reason for refusing the Clinton rally of the FCC grounds does not seem to deter other community colleges from holding political rallies.
Santa Barbara City College officials said that they did not violate the state wide Ed Code when they hosted Obama on Sept 8. Local papers reported more than 4,000 were in attendance on the West campus of the college. Within four days, Senator Barack Obama’s campaign was able to contact, discuss, set-up, and deliver a rally at SBCC.
A collective body of the SBCC constituencies met to discuss possible hurdles regarding the rally on Sept 6. The only issues brought up had to do with facility rental, cleanup, and insurance costs was be paid by the Obama campaign without incident, college officials said. They circumvented class disruption by hosting the rally on a Saturday and shifting West campus classes to the East campus.
Fresno City College, however, is still struggling to explain the administrative process that resulted in a missed opportunity. “I had suggested some other events that would be allowable under the law including a forum, debate or town hall meeting to FCC personnel,” explained Patterson.
The recent on-campus appearance involving a member of the Obama campaign and the subsequent denial of the Clinton camp, raised questions regarding the equity clause in thein Ed Code.
“What concerns me, and what I told the Chancellor was, ‘you better be consistent on whatever you do. If you are not going to allow Senator Clinton to come to your campus, there had better not be another presidential candidate coming to your campus,'” said Reyes. “And now to have locked in a decision, that will stop your students from “ever” seeing “any” presidential candidate, is a bad thing,” Reyes added. “In my opinion, is a bad thing.”
“I have learned a lot from this experience not least of which is how important it is to make sure we all understand the policies and laws that we fall under,” Patterson said. “I am committed to making sure that everyone understands what we can and can’t do in the future.”
“There has clearly been some miscommunication and misunderstandings regarding this issue,” she added. “This is not a partisan issue-it’s a matter of the law.”
Last week, Rick Santos, President of the FCC Academic Senate, sent out an email to all senators with an attached copy of the Ed Code in question and asked them to review the material in preparation of the meeting.
The material included a copy of Ed Code sections 7050-58 and 82537-48. The most noteworthy being 7054 which states, “No school district or community college district funds, services, supplies, or equipment shall be used for the purpose of urging the support or defeat of any ballot measure or candidate, including, but not limited to, any candidate for election to the governing board of the district.”
The Academic Senate is a body made up of faculty representatives that meets bi-weekly. Their primary function is to represent faculty and make recommendations to the administration of the college and to the governing board of the district regarding academic and professional matters.
The initial Rampage article concerning Clinton’s campaign stop in Fresno shed light on a missed opportunity for the college community. “The biggest losers, I will say this forever, whether Hillary Clinton is president or not, the biggest losers out of all of this, have been the students,” Reyes said.
Reyes added, “The students on both sides; it doesn’t matter if you support Hillary or you oppose Hillary, but to see the process in play, to see a presidential candidate, to hear a presidential candidate, that’s an opportunity of a life time, no matter what side you sit on.”