DARRYN HARRIS

Why Thrive LA endorses DARRYN

The Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees oversees one of the largest public college systems in the country, and its decisions shape whether working Angelenos can get the skills, credentials, and jobs that move families forward. Seat 4 needs a trustee who treats district resources as a public trust and measures success by student outcomes. Elaine Alaniz and Darryn Harris come at the job from different directions, but both bring a practical, results-first focus the board needs. **Darryn Harris** Darryn Harris is an instructor at Santa Monica College and serves as Chief Government Affairs & Community Relations Officer at St. John's Community Health, one of Los Angeles's largest Federally Qualified Health Centers. He holds a Master's degree in Higher Education & Organizational Change from UCLA and has spent more than a decade in public service, including as Chief of Staff and District Director to Congresswoman Karen Bass, Senior Advisor to Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, and District Director for Assemblyman Steven Bradford. Harris knows how public institutions work from the inside, as both a classroom educator and a senior government operator. His most promising idea is to develop student, faculty, and workforce housing on district-owned land. The district already owns the land, so new homes there add supply without new acquisition costs, and they help keep instructors and students close to campus in a city where rent drives people out. He pairs that with a clear focus on workforce training that connects students to good-paying jobs. **Elaine Alaniz** Elaine Alaniz is a healthcare workforce specialist and a product of the system she wants to oversee: an alumna of Los Angeles City College and Los Angeles Valley College who went on to earn a Bachelor's in Business from Western Governors University. She works as a Recruitment Coordinator at Firefighters First Credit Union and a Public Affairs Specialist at the U.S. Small Business Administration, and she serves as President of the Westlake North Neighborhood Council. Alaniz brings the fiscal discipline a large public budget demands. She has named unnecessary overspending as a core problem facing the district and has built her campaign around responsible stewardship of taxpayer-funded resources. She is direct about the burden on residents: small businesses and working families are carrying a growing financial load while government spending keeps expanding, and she has pledged to manage public resources so families are not forced to shoulder ever-increasing taxes. Her record is grounded in her neighborhood. As Westlake North Neighborhood Council President, she has spoken out on public safety and on the Mayfair Hotel homeless housing project, insisting that homelessness dollars be tied to measurable outcomes that help people regain stability and independence. Her work with the SBA supporting small business recovery and her service on the City of LA Mayor's Crisis Response Team give her firsthand experience with the residents and employers community colleges are meant to serve. Either Darryn Harris or Elaine Alaniz will give Seat 4 the results-focused leadership LACCD students need.