TONIA AREY

Why Thrive LA endorses TONIA

The Los Angeles Community College District serves hundreds of thousands of students and, by Tonia Arey's count, manages a budget of more than $10 billion, roughly 90 percent of it from taxpayers. Seat 6 needs a trustee who brings outside expertise and asks hard questions about how that money is spent. Voters have two qualified options in this race: a licensed architect and attorney who has run large public investment programs, and a businesswoman running explicitly on taxpayer accountability. Either one is a sound choice. Randall Winston Randall Winston is a licensed architect and attorney who serves as Deputy Mayor of Infrastructure for the City of Los Angeles, where he coordinates public works and transportation investments. He holds a B.A. in Government from Harvard, a Master of Architecture from the University of Virginia, and a J.D. from UC Berkeley School of Law. He also serves as a JAG officer in the U.S. Army National Guard's 40th Infantry Division. A community college district is, in large part, a construction and facilities operation. Few candidates arrive with Winston's mix of design, legal, and project management training. As Executive Director of the California Strategic Growth Council under Governor Jerry Brown, he oversaw more than $1.3 billion in investments. He has experience reading contracts, managing capital programs, and holding large public projects to a standard, which is the expertise trustees need when overseeing LACCD's facilities and capital spending. Tonia Arey Tonia Arey is a Calabasas-based real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Realty, licensed since 2014, and Vice President of Sales at dkspecialties, a promotional products company. She holds a B.S. in Kinesiology from San Francisco State University. Earlier this year she ran for LA County Supervisor in the 3rd District before entering the Seat 6 race. Arey is running on taxpayer accountability. She has said that "students and taxpayers deserve responsible stewardship of public funds, transparent decision-making, and trustees who answer for their actions." Her campaign has focused on cutting wasteful spending and reducing the regulations and taxes that drive up the cost of housing and doing business in Los Angeles. Arey's public safety credentials are strong. She hosted Public Safety Summits with retired LASD Chief Patrick Jordan and earned endorsements from former Sheriff Alex Villanueva and the LA County Deputy Probation Officers' Union Local 685. Small business group Back to Business California also backs her. She has criticized Housing First policies that offer no treatment and supports addiction and mental health recovery along with diversion courts. Randall Winston and Tonia Arey both bring the professional seriousness LACCD's board needs.