Leanna Louie
- Office: Community College Board
- Election Date: November 5, 2024
- Candidate: Leanna Louie
- Due Date: August 26, 2024
- Printable Version
Thank you for seeking GrowSF's endorsement for the November 5, 2024 election! GrowSF believes in a growing, beautiful, vibrant, healthy, safe, and prosperous city delivered via common sense solutions and effective government. Our work includes running public opinion polls to understand what voters want, advocating for those changes, and ensuring that the SF government represents the people.
The GrowSF endorsement committee will review all completed questionnaires and seek consensus on which candidates best align with our vision for San Francisco.
This questionnaire will be published on growsf.org, and so we hope that you use this opportunity to communicate with voters.
Please complete this questionnaire by August 26, 2024 so we have enough time to adequately review and discuss your answers.
Table of Contents
Your Goals
We'd like to get some details about your high-level goals and how you intend to use your elected office to achieve them.
Why are you running for Community College Board?
ANSWER: I am running for San Francisco City College Board of Trustees. Currently CCSF is in danger of losing its accreditation, operating in financial debt, and suffering from low enrollment levels. I want to help change that. I'm excited to bring my experience in organizational leadership skills and balancing public budgets to fix these issues.
Like many city natives, I attended SF public schools & City College. I'm a proud US Army veteran and also worked as an Administrative Analyst for Sacramento Fire Dept, where I managed the Emergency Medical Services billing and budget, resulting in a revenue increase from $9M to $15M in my first year.
**Everything that affects CCSF matters to my family. My father was a Culinary Arts Instructor at City College 2003-2005. My younger son just started his first semester at CCSF. **
CCSF needs strong leaders who are willing to make difficult decisions to improve the education system. My commitment to you is to always work toward common sense solutions to fix San Francisco's problems.
What is your #1 policy goal?
ANSWER: Balancing the Budget.
How will you build the coalition and political capital to enact your #1 goal?
ANSWER: I will build a coalition and political capital by reaching out to all the Board Members, Chancellor, Staff, Student Leaders, and CCSF Stakeholders to work together on balancing the budget.
Will the power of the office of Community College Board be enough to achieve this goal?
ANSWER: It takes a Community to make and achieve a balanced budget. I would welcome philanthropic groups and individuals to make donations to fund budget lines that are short on funds.
What are your #2 and #3 policy goals?
ANSWER: #2 policy goal is public safety and anti-harassment of students, faculty, staff, and everyone at CCSF. #3 policy goal is to introduce creative ways to conduct outreach to help increase enrollment at CCSF which will greatly help CCSF achieve full accreditation.
Will the power of the office of Community College Board be enough to achieve these goals?
ANSWER: It takes a Community to make and achieve a balanced budget. I would welcome philanthropic groups and individuals to make donations to fund budget lines that are short on funds.
Executive experience
Please describe your experience running or governing large organizations, managing teams (including hiring, firing, and performance management), driving cultural change and clear communication throughout all levels, effective financial management (budgets, reporting, audit, etc.), and any other relevant experience.
ANSWER: I served in the US Army 11 years 1990-2001. In my last 3 years of the Army, I served as an Executive Officer of a Military Intelligence Headquarters Unit where I was in charge of managing teams such as our mechanics at the motorpool, chefs at dining facilities, technicians at the operations center, pilots at the hangar, total of over 120 soldiers and officers.
I also served in the City of Sacramento 2002-2012, in Neighborhood Services Department, Solid Waste Division, then Sacramento Fire Department Emergency Medical Services Division as an Administrative Analyst in charge of billing and budgets. I managed a small staff of 3 employees, reported to the EMS Fire Chief, and worked with City Council Members and Mayor on EMS budget items and procurement.
From 2013-2018, I owned and operated a Mediterranean Cuisine Restaurant in the Mission/Bernal District where I was in charge of hiring, training, discipline, and firing of employees. While we had a crew of 3 chefs, 3 drivers, and a dishwasher/janitor, I also worked as a waitress, on-call chef, on-call dishwasher, on-call janitor, and daily accountant. My employees were always paid on time and so were the business taxes, licenses, and insurance.
Please describe a time when you had an underperforming subordinate and how you handled the situation, including (and especially) how you were able to increase their performance.
Note: Please remember that this questionnaire will be public, so do not include any personally identifiable information.
ANSWER: Indeed, there were situations when subordinates underperform. I would first approach the employee, offer them my observations, and give them feedback. Then ask if they could find a better way to do certain things, how would they have done it differently? Then offer my recommendations on how to increase performance.
Please describe a time when your organization faced an extreme challenge and how you got the organization through it.
ANSWER: When my restaurant faced extreme challenge of finding good employees, I filled in where I can and made things work. I also recruited some experienced friends to assist until the organization was back on its normal functioning level.
The Issues
Next, we will cover the issues that voters tell us they care about. We hope to gain a better understanding of your policy positions, and we hope that you use this opportunity to communicate with voters.
Budget
Please describe the current budget allocation of CCSF.
In your own words, please describe the nature of City College’s budget situation. Is it in crisis? Where does it fall short of what students need? What are the reasons for those shortfalls?
ANSWER: City College is in fact deficit spending and it needs to stop. We need to prioritize student needs, offer classes that are in high demand such as English 1 and English 1A. The reason for shortfalls are funding unnecessary projects, programs, and certain construction work.
One reason for City College’s budget concerns is declining enrollment. What will you do, as a Board of Trustees member, to boost enrollment?
ANSWER: There is more than one way to attract students to enroll at City College. My son just graduated from Washington High School last year. When he graduated, he didn’t know anything about City College. There were no flyers at the high school, no student body assemblies held about considerations to attend City College, no education or career fairs to promote City College, no CCSF Board Members reaching out to their school, no famous people went to their school were mentioned to help advertise about CCSF. I propose that we do all these forms of marketing City College to all the SFUSD public schools. City College has so much to offer and we need to make it known to the all the high school students in the San Francisco Bay Area.
I would reach out to high school principals, education and career counselors/advisors about the breadth of the classes and training available for many seniors in high school who are unsure of their career and remind them that after getting an Associates Degree at City College, they can get admitted to a UC or Cal State program to finish a Bachelor’s Degree.
With increased enrollment, State will provide more funding, which will help stabilize the budget. The budget itself is a different issue that must be addressed. As Board Members, we need to be diligent about monitoring the budget. We should be reviewing the revenues and expenses of every department at CCSF. We should be careful about how the funds are spent and when to spend the funds. We should also be observant so that we can prevent fraud, waste, and abuse. We should hold all contractors accountable for delayed or unfulfilled contract agreements.
In your opinion, does the “Free City” program, which provides free tuition to San Francisco residents, meaningfully impact City College’s budget? If so, how? If not, why not?
ANSWER: YES, “FREE CITY” program does make a meaningful impact in City College’s budget. This program has helped thousands of students attain the education and bridge to university, as well as attain license or certification they need to start a career.
Accreditation
City College faces a loss of its accreditation, putting the education of its students at risk. In your view, why hasn’t the accreditation crisis been solved?
ANSWER: In my view, the reason why the accreditation crisis has not been solved because people aren’t willing to work together. Certain board members put ideology in front of the needs of the students, teachers, and the education system. We need to start meaningful dialogue as Board Members and look for solutions, not throw monkey wrenches at each other.
What needs to be done to solve the accreditation crisis?
ANSWER: First, we need to have a balanced 3-5 year budget that is effectively and efficiently implemented. Second, we need to do everything we can to increase enrollment rates, as I have mentioned in the previous question about student enrollment. When these two are properly implemented, City College will be out of the accreditation crisis.
What role does the Board of Trustees play in solving this?
ANSWER: The Board of Trustees are the policy makers and decision makers of the budget and major projects at City College. Our primary objective is to make sure the student education needs are met.
Chancellor
In your opinion, is the Chancellor doing a good job?
ANSWER: There’s been a change in Chancellor and I have not had the chance to meet the new interim Chancellor.
As a Trustee, how would you ensure the Chancellor is focusing on the right issues?
ANSWER: Open communications with the Chancellor would help the Board and the Chancellor stay focused on the issues.
How has the current Board of Trustees helped or hindered the Chancellor?
ANSWER: I do not personally know all the members of the Board. I have read in news articles that certain members of the Board have hindered the Chancellor by rejection of his 3-5 year budget plans.
Should the Board of Trustees retain or fire Chancellor David Martin?
ANSWER: I have read that Chancellor David Martin is no longer with CCSF as of July 2024. City College’s interim is Mitchell Bailey, an ex-San Mateo college executive.
Curriculum
What can the Community College Board do to improve student performance at City College?
ANSWER: The Community College Board can meet with education and career counselors to find solutions to resolve board student performance concerns.
Are students graduating with the skills necessary to obtain a good job? Why or why not?
ANSWER: Upon speaking with many students at City College including my son, his friends, some neighbors of mine… most complain that over the last 4 years, they have not been able to enroll in classes they need to obtain a good job and start their careers. As Board members, we should put student achievement ahead of any ideology.
What is the City College curriculum lacking which the Board could rectify?
ANSWER: There have been complaints of lack of basic English 1 and English 1A classes, that there are many students on the waitlist and not enough classes offered. The Board needs to act on this by hiring qualified instructors to teach these classes. CCSF is also lacking classes on Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency. I would be the first candidate to introduce these classes at CCSF. I hope the rest of the Board Members will be open-minded enough to explore the possibilities.
Personal
Tell us a bit about yourself!
What is your professional background?
ANSWER: I spent 11 years in the US Army, 1990-2001. In the first 5 years, I worked in the Medical Service Corps as a Combat Medic and Pharmacy Technician, both overseas and in the continental U.S. Then did Army ROTC at Pacific Lutheran University, were I was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in Military Intelligence. I served out the rest of my military career as an MI Officer.
After my military service, I worked for the City of Sacramento 2002-2012, starting in the Neighborhood Services Department as a Neighborhood Resource Coordinator. Then promoted to Administrative Analyst with the Solid Waste Division. Then transferred to the Fire Department Human Resources Division, and finally at the Emergency Services Division where I managed billing for services, procurement processes, and balancing the budget. Under my leadership, we increased our revenue from $9 mil to $15 mil in my first year.
From 2013-2018, I owned and operated a mom-n-pop Mediterranean Cuisine restaurant in the Mission/Bernal District. With a small staff of 3 chefs and 3 drivers, we served many customers in San Francisco, San Mateo County, and as far as Santa Clara County. We catered to big events like Salesforce Conference. By the 3rd year of ownership, I was able to save enough money to buy my own home in the SF Bay Area, as a single mom.
Are you currently or formerly enrolled at City College, and/or do you have any children who are currently or formerly enrolled at City College?
ANSWER: I was enrolled at City College in my senior year at Mission High School 1989-1990. My father was a Culinary Arts Instructor at City College 2003-2005. My 18 year old son and his friends who recently graduated from Washington High School are currently enrolled at City College.
How long have you lived in San Francisco? What brought you here and what keeps you here?
ANSWER: My family immigrated to San Francisco from Hong Kong in 1979 when I was only 7 years old. We have lived here for 45 years. I was away for military service 1990-2001, and I came home to San Francisco at least 2 to 4 weeks out of the year while I was in the US Army. While I lived and worked in Sacramento 2002-2012, I came home to San Francisco almost every weekend to stay with my parents. My family and friends keep me here.
What do you love most about San Francisco?
ANSWER: I love the diversity of people, cultures, foods, architecture, forms of transportation, access to public education, public libraries, public parks, public beaches. I LOVE SAN FRANCISCO!
What do you dislike the most about San Francisco?
ANSWER: I dislike politicians who ignore their constituents.
Tell us about your current involvement in the community (e.g., volunteer groups, neighborhood associations, civic and professional organizations, etc.)
ANSWER: I have been very active in the Community for years. In 2020, I started a volunteer safety patrol group and graffiti removal unit in SF Chinatown, we eventually got our 501(C)3 status with the help of California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, who is endorsing me to run for this position. I am an active member of the 4 major military veterans organizations in the SF Bay Area: American Legion Cathay Post 384, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4618 – 91st Division, Naval Order of United States, and AMVETs of America. I have worked with volunteer organizations like the SF Lions Club, Senior Action Network, and Chinese Real Estate Association of America.
Thank you
I would be honored to have the endorsement of GrowSF. Thank you for creating this questionnaire and for inviting me to answer these questions.
Respectfully,
Leanna Louie
info@leannalouie.com (415) 310-8412
If you see any errors on this page, please let us know at contact@growsf.org.