Top 3 Issues
1. Build the West Valley Campus
As a former C.O.D. trustee, I helped pass a $578 million education bond (Measure CC, 2016) to improve C.O.D. facilities across the valley including doubling the size of the East Valley Campus in Indio and creating a Child Development Center. However, C.O.D. students who live or work on the West side of the valley, have been waiting for nearly 20 years for a West Valley Campus that is close in proximity to them. Desert Hot Springs students who travel by bus, must endure a 1.5 hour bus ride each way to the Main C.O.D. Campus in Palm Desert. That’s unacceptable!
More than $400 million has been set aside to build the West Valley Campus for Desert Hot Springs, Thousand Palms, Cathedral City, and Palm Springs students and workers. However, current C.O.D. Trustee Bea Gonzalez has voted (No) at almost every board meeting against the West Valley Campus thereby attempting to further delay its construction. Bea Gonzalez recommends using these education bond dollars to redevelop downtowns, a use not permitted by law, as pointed out by the Desert Sun Editorial Board on March 27, 2022.
Our students deserve better than Bea Gonzalez! They deserve access to an education now.
Bea Votes NO on Students, I’ll Vote YES!
2. Maintain Free Public Transportation to C.O.D. Students
Many COD students rely on public transportation to get to and from the classroom. As a former trustee, I voted to partner with Sunline Transit to provide C.O.D. students with free bus fares to get to and from home, work, and school. This unique program is called the “Haul Pass” for all C.O.D. students.
On September 15, 2023, Trustee Bea Gonzalez voted to table a resolution that would provide free transportation from Desert Hot Springs to the new West Valley Campus when officially opened.
Bea Votes NO on Students, I’ll Vote YES!
3. Celebrate Our Diverse Students – So They Can Thrive
COD students come from every background imaginable. C.O.D. educates everyone regardless of their age, race, gender, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, economic status, nationality or ethnic origin. When our students succeed, we as a society succeed!
As a former COD trustee, I played an integral role in establishing a Food Bank for food-insecure students, enhanced the Veterans Resource Center, and helped establish the Dreamers Resource Center, Gender and Sexual Diversity Pride Center, Black Student Success Center, Foster Youth Center and the Berger Faculty Innovation Center at C.O.D. Additionally, I voted for California Indian Nations College to begin its process of full accreditation through a collaboration with C.O.D. I led the charge for water bottle stations throughout COD in order to conserve water and protect our planet from single-use plastic bottles.
- My opponent and current C.O.D. Trustee Bea Gonzalez voted AGAINST the following:
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Bea voted 'No' 18 times and counting against building the West Valley Campus- Bea voted 'No' on the "One Coachella Valley" mentor and scholarship program for male Latino students – August 18, 2023
- Bea voted 'No' for furniture for the Black Student Success Center – August 18, 2023
- Bea voted 'No' on a program to streamline student loan processing – August 18, 2023
- Bea voted 'No' for a program with Jewish Family Services to provide housing assistance for C.O.D. students who are housing insecure or homeless – August 18, 2023
- Bea voted 'No' on the Visit Greater Palm Springs Hospitality Training Program – August 18, 2023
- Bea voted 'No' to install the remaining furniture at the Indio Campus Expansion, Building B - April 19, 2024
- Bea voted 'No' on Pollock Theater Upgrades - April 19, 2024
- Bea voted 'No' on laboratory material upgrades for the Nursing Program - April 19, 2024
- Bea voted 'No' on upgrading the Student Life Conference Room - April 19, 2024
- Bea voted 'No' on Computer Network Infrastructure upgrades - April 19, 2024
Bea Votes 'NO' on Students, Mary Jane Will Vote 'YES!'
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- Bea Gonzalez Cannot Be Trusted with Public Funds:
- Costly Lawsuit by College of the Desert (COD) Employee Against Bea Gonzalez Totaling a $597,000 Settlement.
- Millions of Dollars Wasted on Construction Delays of West Valley Campus & Roadrunner Motors as Bea Gonzalez Advocated to Revitalize Downtowns Instead.
- Voted for an Excessive 12% Annual Raise and an Illegal 18-month Golden Parachute Buyout for Former COD President Martha Garcia – ALL at Taxpayers’ Expense
- Poor Leadership Caused Declining Enrollments at COD Losing Millions in State Funding
- At CVUSD, Bea Gonzalez Purchased Thousands of Tickets for Ice Hockey Games and Roller Coaster Rides Costing Taxpayers MORE than $530,000!
TESTIMONIALS
Raul Ruiz, M.D.
Mary Jane’s leadership on the COD Board of Trustees for 8 years created a legacy of reducing tuition costs, free public transportation for all COD students to and from classes and work, and record-breaking COD graduation rates. Returning her to the board of trustees will guarantee students greater access to a higher education, eliminate the barriers students encounter in their pursuit of earning a college degree, and make COD more affordable for local families.
Becky Broughton
, who currently serves as President of the Southern Coachella Valley Community Services District Board
Having served with Mary Jane on the COD Board of Trustees, I know that she always focused on the needs of the students. I believe that's the primary job of a trustee, making policy and allocating resources to support student success, and Mary Jane epitomizes that role.
About Mary Jane
Teacher, Healthcare Professional, Former COD Trustee
A daughter of immigrants and a first-generation college graduate, Mary Jane Sanchez served honorably as a College of the Desert (C.O.D.) Trustee from 2012 to 2020. She made history by becoming the first Latina chair of the Board of Trustees at C.O.D. and achieving numerous successes by placing the needs of students first. Those achievements included free tuition to all high school graduating students in the Coachella Valley, free bus passes for all C.O.D. students to get to and from work and school, new C.O.D. classrooms in Desert Hot Springs, and the new C.O.D. East Valley Campus in Indio.
Mary Jane received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master of Arts degree in International Relations from Golden Gate University. She furthered her professional learning by being certified in Executive Education in Public Policy at the University of Southern California and in Non-Profit Organizational Management at Notre Dame University. For more than twenty years, Mary Jane has taught K-12, English as a Second Language, and Business and Economics at multiple colleges and universities, such as College of the Desert, UCLA Extension, and Santa Monica College. Her career expands several decades with non-profit work, community outreach, coalition building, marketing, and more recently, as a healthcare professional helping homebound seniors.
As a former COD trustee, Mary Jane advocated for and helped pass a voter-approved $578 million college education bond that will be utilized to build a West Valley Campus for students and workers primarily in Desert Hot Springs, Thousand Palms, Cathedral City, and Palm Springs. Plus, she voted to double the size of COD’s East Valley Campus in Indio that will provide additional classrooms and an early childhood development center so parents have the opportunity to go to college, too. She played an integral role in establishing a Food Bank for food insecure students, enhanced the Veterans Resource Center, and helped establish the Dreamers Resource Center, Gender and Sexual Diversity Pride Center, Black Student Success Center, Foster Youth Center, and the Berger Faculty Innovation Center at C.O.D. Mary Jane voted for California Indian Nations College to begin its process of full accreditation through a collaboration with C.O.D. She also led the charge for water bottle stations throughout COD in order to conserve water and protect our planet from single-use plastic bottles.
During Mary Jane’s tenure on C.O.D.’s Board of Trustees, the college became the fastest-growing community college in California, had record-breaking graduation rates, and earned national and state awards and nominations for academic excellence including the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence and the winner of the prestigious Bellwether Award. The state chancellor for California’s community colleges honored C.O.D. for its efforts in providing Outstanding Student Success.
Mary Jane has received a long list of personal accolades over her career including Citizen of Achievement from the League of Women Voters, Community Advocate Award by the National Latina Business Women’s Association, Woman of Distinction by the California State Assembly, Advocate for Women’s Equality Award by the California State Senate, and Person of Distinction by Veterans for Peace, just to name a few. Additionally, she has been a member of the American Association of University Women, multiple chambers of commerce, a Paul Harris Fellow with Rotary International, and former president of LULAC Inland Empire.
Both being animal lovers, Mary Jane and her husband, Robert, share their home with five rescue pets - three dogs and two cats.
