Paulina Gonzalez-Brito to retain Area 2 seat

Incumbent trustee prepares to tackle finance, facilities

Romi Bales, Staff Writer

November 24, 2024

Paulina Gonzalez-Brito shares a laugh with The Citizen staff during the publication’s public forums held Sep. 23. Area 2 voters re-elected Gonzalez-Brito this month, according to unofficial results from the Alameda County Registrar of Voters.

Peralta Community College District (PCCD) Trustee Paulina Gonzalez-Brito has secured their Area 2 seat for a second term.

Sinead Geneva Anderson, a former instructional assistant at Merritt College, was the sole opposing candidate running against Gonzalez-Brito.

At time of writing, Gonzalez-Brito leads with 14,071 votes and Anderson trails with 7,625 votes, according to unofficial results from the Alameda County Registrar of Voters. With 5,000 votes left to be counted countywide, Gonzalez-Brito is poised for a decisive win.

The Citizen held a public forum of both candidates on Sep. 23 and ultimately endorsed Gonzalez-Brito for the trustee seat.

Gonzalez-Brito, who uses they/them and she/her pronouns, has served on the board since March 2023 and was elected Board President in December 2023. The board appointed Gonzalez-Brito to fill a vacant seat left by the resignation of Kevin Jenkins, who joined the Oakland City Council in January 2023.

As trustee, Gonzalez-Brito has been involved in important decisions for the district such as the hiring of the current chancellor.

In a Nov. 6 interview with The Citizen, Gonzalez-Brito thanked voters for their continued faith in them, and plans to work hard to strengthen the relationship between East Oakland and the Peralta Colleges.

“I think the unique economic opportunities that Peralta has to offer are really beneficial to East Oakland,” Gonzalez-Brito said.

Gonzalez-Brito noted improvements on the culture and collaboration of the board during their time on the board. Gonzalez-Brito also reflected that their focus was not actually on the election, but rather getting the district financially stable.

“We had a very sobering presentation by the chancellor at our last board meeting about the financial state of the district,” Gonzalez-Brito said, referring to a presentation about the district’s financial troubles revealed at the Oct. 22 Board of Trustees meeting.

Gonzalez-Brito said their focus over the next four years will also include facilities improvements and maintenance, student recruitment, and outreach to underrepresented communities.

Dyana Delfín Polk, who represents Area 6, and Nicky González Yuen, who represents Area 4, both ran unopposed this election cycle and will retain their seats for the next four years.

In a phone interview with The Citizen, Anderson expressed future plans to continue in Area 2.

“I am extremely proud of the work I was able to do in Area 2 and the work I will continue to do,” Anderson said. “I am very proud of Paulina as well, and congratulations to her.”

About the Contributor

Romi Bales, Staff Writer.

Romi Bales (they/them) is a Bay Area transplant, originally from San Diego. They are a first-year staff writer with The Citizen and have worked as an editor and Editor in Chief for several academic publications including Humble Pie Literary Magazine, The Production Online Newspaper, and Inscribe Writing and Visual Anthology. They received a Bachelor of the Arts degree in Writing and Literature from the California College of the Arts in 2020. In their free time, Romi enjoys reading and writing queer fiction novels, researching Irish culture, and memorizing information about sustainable farming practices.