Citrus College Board Incumbent Claims He Wasn’t Invited to Candidate Forum

Candidates for a seat on Citrus College’s Board of Trustees answered questions during a candidate forum Wednesday, but noticeably absent was incumbent Gary L. Woods.

Candidates Cristina Cruz-Madrid, Barbara Dickerson, Shawn Millner and Lorenzo Rios attended the forum hosted by Citrus College’s faculty association on the school campus.

Woods, a 32-year member of the board who has recently been under fire for allegedly living outside of his district boundaries, sent a statement to the media prior to Wednesday’s forum claiming that he never received a notice or invitation to the candidate forum.

“I have checked daily at my residence mailbox and my e-mails, however, to date I have not received anything,” Woods said in a statement.

The Board of Trustees voted to initiate an inquiry into allegations that Woods violated terms of his elected office, allegations brought on by then-Citrus College Faculty Association President John Fincher.

Fincher claims that he mailed Woods an invitation to the forum and each of candidates present at the forum said they received an email invitation at least a week in advance of the forum, according to a story in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

The four other candidates in the Nov. 5 election include Cruz-Madrid, a former Azusa mayor; Dickerson, vice-president of Azusa Unified School Board; Millner, a member of Azusa’s planning commission; and Rios, a retired utility worker from the Rancho Santiago Community College District in Santa Ana.

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