Five Reasons to Elect Diddo

By Diddo Ruth Clark

Diddo is local. She volunteers in service to the community. She mediates. She's the passionate, committed, and consensus candidate.

1. She's local. Diddo attended local public schools and graduated from Diablo Valley College, the largest college in the community college district on whose board she seeks to serve. Her DVC education made it possible for her to excel at the University of California, San Diego and Georgetown Law School in Washington, D.C.

2. She has served the community as a volunteer: DVC tutor; Contact Care Helpline listener; Lafayette City Commissioner; San Francisco Coalition on Homelessness arbitrator; mediator for Americans with Disabilities Act, EEOC, and other cases; and UC Alumni Association Sacramento legislative advocate.

3. She mediates. Diddo has served as a court-appointed mediator since 1976, an arbitrator since 1980, and has run her own mediation and arbitration law firm since 1992. Mediation skills are sorely needed on the College Board - which currently oversees a system wherein the administration routinely litigates against the faculty rather than collaborates with them.

4. She is the passionate and committed candidate. Diddo is passionate about reversing the priorities of the College Board so that: (a) the Board is open rather than secretive; (b) the District collaborates with its workers more and litigates less; and (c) the interests of students, staff, and faculty come before the personal interests of administrators.

Diddo is passionate about managing the public's money more wisely. For almost all of the past year, our College District has been on the statewide watch list for having financial reserves lower than required by law. Our District has a new multi-million dollar software system which doesn't work well. This past summer, the College Board voted to reward the vice-chancellors responsible for these inadequate performances with lucrative 2 year contract extensions. Diddo would not vote to reward inadequate performance.

Diddo strongly supports passage of the College Bond (Measure K on the November ballot) because our colleges desperately need the money. Assuming the bond passes, it will be particularly important that Diddo, as the candidate who represents the community, be on the College Board to oversee spending the money in a manner which is accountable, open, collaborative, and student-oriented.

Diddo is the only candidate in the race who is passionate enough about these issues to: campaign in person; attend College Board meetings; accept the invitation of DVC students to participate in a candidate forum; and devote the time it takes, as a College Board member, to listen to all competing interests, pay attention to the details, and think independently (The candidate forum proposed by DVC students has been the only candidate forum opportunity in a neutral setting in this campaign.).

5. She is the consensus candidate for College Board - endorsed by practically all top local Democratic and Republican officials who are endorsing in this race: Congressman George Miller, Assembly members Lynne Leach and Tom Torlakson, District Attorney Gary Yancey, 4 out of 5 County Supervisors, and elected officials from every city in our ward (including the current mayors of Hercules, Lafayette, and Walnut Creek and 17 local former mayors).

The Honorable Coleman Fannin, former Republican Central Committee member, said on 10/24/00 that, "I know our community colleges and I know Contra Costa because I lived in Pinole for 34 years and I served as both a Contra Costa Community College District Governing Board member and then as a Contra Costa Superior Court judge. I want only the best for our colleges and our county and I believe that Diddo Clark can help us get it. Please join me, my wife, and our 3 daughters in voting for Diddo Clark for College Board on November 7."

10/26/00