Karen Hernandez (Los Angeles Community College District)

Karen Hernandez ran for election to the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees to represent Seat No. 1 in California. She lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Hernandez completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Karen Hernandez was born in Los Angeles, California. She received a bachelor's degree from the University of California Berkeley in 2013 and a master's degree from UCLA in 2017.^[1]^[2]

Elections

2020

General election

General election for Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees Seat No. 1

The following candidates ran in the general election for Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees Seat No. 1 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Andra Hoffman (Nonpartisan)	51.5	887,245
		Karen Hernandez (Nonpartisan)	16.9	290,952
		Charné Tunson (Nonpartisan)	8.4	145,222
	Submit photo	Tori Bailey (Nonpartisan)	7.6	131,143
	Submit photo	Antonio Paolo Sanchez (Nonpartisan)	4.7	80,675
	Submit photo	Marjorie Shaw (Nonpartisan)	4.3	73,269
	Submit photo	Jessica McCarns (Nonpartisan)	3.7	63,604
	Submit photo	R. Richard Cuevas (Nonpartisan)	2.9	49,363

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,721,473
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Endorsements

To view Hernandez's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

Karen Hernandez completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Hernandez's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Karen Hernandez, a Los Angeles native, grew up in a working class, first-generation, immigrant household and community. Having faced food and housing insecurity, her family relied on support from non-profits which provided them with groceries, clothes, goods, and school supplies, as means to get by. At an early age, her mother instilled in her the core values of integrity, responsibility, humility, and hard work, emphasizing the power of education as a

Karen Hernandez understands the power of education - which is why she has energetically dedicated over 10 years of her career to the field of education, working with K-12, college students, and our communities. Currently, she works with the City of Los Angeles Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, helping over 100 publicly elected officials to champion the needs of their communities to City Hall. These experiences have both informed and shaped Hernandez's desire to run for the LACCD board of trustees.

She ardently desires to bring systemic changes to the LACCD Board, particularly greater budget and policy accountability, while simultaneously aiming to design a more equitable and inclusive community college district. Considering the majority of our community college students are part-time Black and Latino working class students, we must ensure all OUR students, despite socio-economic background, have an equitable opportunity to reach their goals. Let's put OUR students and faculty FIRST when we vote on November 3rd, 2

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Increase grants for living expenses for all students
Affordable housing options at all campuses
Ensure a COVID safe and equitable online learning, increase support for remote learning

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I'm running to end the corruption on the LA Community College Board of Trustees. The LA Time's has reported numerous incidents of fiscal mismanagement of the $5 billion dollar LACCD budget and the backroom deals with developers and special interests.

Students are facing chronic housing insecurity, low transfer rates, and limited access to career technical programs.
Include students and faculty in the decision making process to ensure end the fiscal mismanagement by the incumbents and ensure transparency of the $5 billion dollar budget.
Ensure equitable access to technological resources to support our students continue their educational journey during this challenging time.
Expand scholarships, grants, and, vouchers to support access to technology and supplies.
Fund access to health care services and mental health services.
Reimagine campus safety.
Fully fund access to culturally relevant programs
Improved environmental friendly transportation options for students to safely commute, especially in the evening (once it is safe again to attend c

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to Dolores Huerta because she fights for basic human rights we all deserve regardless of immigration status.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?