De’Shawn Woolridge embodies the timeless adage of a local boy made good. A former student of Los Medanos College, he understands the needs and hopes of community college students. His candidacy for Ward 5 of the Contra Costa Community College District represents the result that hard work and dedication brings. It’s a big responsibility and he’s a shining example of how you can utilize your teachings here at LMC to reach your highest potential.

Mr. Woolridge is not just a former student; he represented you as student president in 2008. He also served on the Shared Governance Council working with the Administration and Board of Trustees. Combining this experience together gives him the edge as the candidate who can relate to the student body and will take our concerns into this new endeavor.

Whether it’s his plan to partner up with the local high schools to increase participation, or his plan to institute a digital textbook program, his main goal is to work for the students.

We need to forge partnerships with the local community to promote the importance of an education. With LMC being visible to the local high schools, he can help to maintain an environment where local talent can come flourish.

With the continual growth of the local communities, we need to attract the best talent to our community colleges. The projects involving the expansion of the Brentwood Campus will require the leadership at the highest level, and our school will benefit greatly from De’Shawn’s insight. The Brentwood and Oakley college community is growing at record levels and we can trust Woolridge to work closely with the district to accommodate the needs of the community.

As the cost of textbooks rise, coupled with the rise of tablets in the classroom, the digital textbook program will be a huge financial relief on students and parents struggling with increasing supplies costs in overall semester costs. The inevitable move towards digital textbooks can only help students. De’Shawn’s leadership will be critical in this important transition.

With the increasing budget cuts hitting the school, these bright and feasible ideas are impacts LMC students will feel right away. These are difficult times in this county, but despite the challenges the district faces, Woolridge is up to the task. We need someone who understands the art of working with less.

The candidate who wins this election will be responsible navigating budget cuts with increased costs, and an increased student population.

Having a candidate like Woolridge working with us and for us will ensure the future for LMC is secure and bright.