Voters reject renegade leaders

Published 12:01 am PDT Saturday, June 10, 2006
Story appeared in Sacramento Bee Editorials section, Page B6

Sometimes voters send a subtle message in an election. Sometimes they send a primal scream. Tuesday night in Placer County, they screamed.
The message was clear. Either the leaders of the Sierra Joint Community College District change their ways, or the leadership will be changed -- one way or another.

For the sake of the district, thousands of students and hundreds of educators and staff, the cleanest solution is for at least three district trustees -- Jerry Simmons, Aaron Klein and Scott Leslie -- to resign rather than wait for voters to do the inevitable.
On Tuesday night, the voters made their intentions clear about the Sierra College leadership in three different items on the ballot. First, they resoundingly rejected a bond that was personally championed by Simmons, Klein and Leslie that would have funded bare-bones maintenance for the community college district.

Don't misread this outcome. Voters haven't turned against higher education. They simply are sick of how the board leadership mistreated a popular president (he has left) and disrespected a county grand jury review of their shenanigans.

Second, voters turned against Simmons and his supporters -- particularly financier and developer Angelo K. Tsakopoulos (a Democrat from Sacramento) -- by rejecting his candidacy for the Placer County Board of Supervisors. Instead, they re-elected incumbent Robert Weygandt of Lincoln by roughly a 3-1 margin.

And third, Simmons ran dead last among six candidates for five seats on the Placer County Republican Central Committee. Klein and Simmons have been leaders of this committee. Only Placer County Republicans could vote in this central committee election. With Simmons placing last, it is clear that rank-and-file Placer Republicans don't think much of what has happened to their own local party.

A recall effort is under way to oust Klein and Simmons, but Leslie should be squirming as well. All three of them have lost any moral authority to run Sierra College, because they are running it into the ground.

The defeat of an otherwise non- controversial bond suggests that voters won't trust Simmons, Klein or Leslie with their money. And who can blame them?

But that distrust can't be allowed to endanger the future of Sierra College and of higher education in Placer County. The necessary investments won't happen until leadership of the district regains credibility with the community. That won't happen until there is new leadership. One way or another, Placer is poised to clean house. The sooner there is new leadership for Sierra College, the brighter the future for Placer County.