Six candidates vie for three Hartnell Community College trustee seats.

The Hartnell Community College board is guaranteed to see a set of fresh faces, some with lengthy experience in government and higher education. Others have none at all.

Six candidates are vying for three seats on the Hartnell Governing Board this Nov. 3, and no incumbents are seeking reelection. The trustees oversee the college, vote on how it spends its money (Hartnell spent over $180 million in the 2024-2025 budget), approve hiring decisions and more.

The board consists of trustees representing seven areas across Monterey County, Hartnell President Michael Gutierrez and a student representative.

Either Felicia Perez Kausin or Patricia Coyt will take over the incumbent Ray Montemayor’s Area 5 seat.

Perez Kausin’s priorities are wraparound services for child care, mental health and more, and hiring faculty. She ran once before in 2007 and lost. Her largest single donor, the Salinas Valley Leadership Group, has donated $5,900 to her campaign.

A Hartnell graduate herself, Coyt wants to focus on keeping classes up to date, transportation issues and increasing graduation rates. Her endorsements include Montemayor, who is not seeking reelection, and Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo. She has not reported any campaign donations.

In Area 6, which encompasses roughly Chualar to Soledad, incumbent Cesar Iracheta will be followed by either Rosalie Sanchez or Sofia Ramirez. Given the 3,500-home Vista Lucia development in Gonzales, which would double the number of homes in the city over 30 years, both hope to add a Hartnell satellite campus in Gonzales.

Ramirez says her priorities would be assistance for low-income students, expanding career and technical education and workforce training. She is an executive assistant at the Alisal Union School District, where she’s worked for 17 years.

Sanchez wants to support partnerships between Hartnell College and high schools, and serves on many committees, including as president of the Gonzales Chamber of Commerce, a juror on the Monterey County Civil Grand Jury and more.

Both are endorsed by the Monterey County Democratic Party and have not reported any campaign donations.

Area 7 represents the lower half of South County, from Greenfield to the county line. Competing for incumbent Candi DePauw’s spot are John Huerta Jr. and Nancy Reyes.

Huerta was mayor of Greenfield until he was recalled in 2017, and a former public works superintendent for the County of Monterey. He wants to expand career technical education by working with businesses to determine workforce priorities. He hopes to bring knowledge about state legislation to improve policy at the local level. He is endorsed by Progress Monterey County.

An elementary school secretary in the King City Union School District, Reyes would like to see the expansion of programs in South County. She has not received any endorsements. While she says she doesn’t know if she’s the best candidate, she says she is invested in meeting students’ needs.