La Prensa San Diego
South county voters have a clear choice on November 3 for who to help lead one of our most important educational opportunities for local students: Trustee Robert Moreno is running for re-election to the Governing Board in Area 1, but he is being challenged by former Chula Vista Mayor Mary Salas.
Salas, 78, has already served the region at multiple levels. She sat on the Chula Vista City Council, represented the South Bay in the State Assembly, and later served as Mayor of Chula Vista. That is a long record of public service. It is also a record that has already given her years of visibility, connections, and influence.
Her decision to run for a community college board seat now raises a basic question: Is this about serving students, or about limiting the growth of newer local leaders?
When a former mayor and assemblymember enters a race for a college trustee seat held by a relative newcomer, it is fair to ask whether the goal is to contribute or to keep emerging voices from gaining a foothold in regional politics.
Robert Moreno, 41, offers a different path. He is a South Bay native who grew up in National City, graduated from Sweetwater High School, attended Southwestern College, and later earned a degree from San Diego State University.
He was elected to the Governing Board in 2022 and has focused on student priorities, fiscal questions, and giving the communities the college serves a stronger voice. He has been a strong representative in his first term in office.
As a former Southwestern student himself, he understands the practical barriers—transportation, cost, transfer pathways—that many South Bay families still face.
In his professional life, Moreno works within the County’s Office of Ethics and Compliance that investigates allegations of improper county government activity, discrimination, fraud, waste, and abuse, and oversees the County’s Code of Ethics.
Community college boards do important work. They oversee budgets, facilities, academic programs, and student support. They also serve as a training ground for local leadership. When retired political figures move into these seats, they crowd out the next generation of leaders who could bring fresh perspectives from the communities the college actually serves.
Voters who want continuity of student-focused representation, and who believe new local leaders should have room to grow, should re-elect Robert Moreno.
Southwestern College belongs to the students and families of the South Bay. Its board should reflect that, not simply recycle the same names from higher offices over and over again.
