( Photo courtesy of Ventura County Democratic activist Sharon Hillbrant. Marie Panec holds the microphone. In the background congressional candidate Tim Allison speaks to Rep. Brad Sherman.)
Moorpark Professor and Oak Park School Board Member Marie Panec has officially announced she is running for the Democratic Party nomination in the 24th congressional district. The seat is currently held by Rep. Gallegly.
I have an interview scheduled with her on this blog coming up on Thursday, October 8th. Leave some suggested questions in the comments section and I would include some of them.
Click here for her campaign website. It is under construction but you can sign up for campaign newsletters there.
The poll questions below are obviously not scientific as they reflect the intensity of readers of this blog, not the average voter. Many of these are all ongoing polls started from earlier entries.
I had an interesting idea. I would like to see Rep. Capps and Rep. Gallegly debate healthcare for local citizens. They can meet in an area where many people from both districts can attend. I am sure they can find a venue and a moderator to host it. To be clear I am not interested in hosting or taking credit for the event. I just want to watch the debate.
Would you like to see them debate? Leave a comment or vote in my poll showing your support for this proposal. You don't need to register to vote or to leave a comment but keep it classy.
Oak Park School Board Trustee Marie Panec Announces Candidacy for 24th Congressional District
Marie Panec, an Oak Park Unified School District Board Trustee and a professor of biology at Moorpark College, has announced her candidacy for U.S. Congress in the 24th District, which covers much of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. As a 25-year resident of the district, Dr. Panec is well-acquainted with the community's diverse demographics and issues.
"In order to revive our local economy and ensure our quality of life, we must pursue policies which will foster growth in science and technology and nurture educational opportunities," Dr. Panec said. "Building the economy of our communities and helping people to get and keep jobs is an urgent need in California."
The congressional candidate's passion and commitment to the region is evidenced in her securing a second term as an elected member of the board of the Oak Park Unified School District. Dr. Panec also serves on the Executive Board of the Ventura County School Boards and serves on the board of Community Action of Ventura County, which provides support to low income, disadvantaged and at-risk individuals and families.
During difficult budgetary times, Dr. Panec exhibits fiscal restraint while focusing resources in the classroom to directly benefit students. During Dr. Panec's school board term, Oak Park has been recognized as one of the top performing districts in the state, consistently earning the highest standardized test scores, Blue Ribbon and Distinguished School designations, and achievement grants and accolades, and attracting students from outside the district. Oak Park was recently awarded a $580,000 federal grant to support and expand its Chinese language program, making it one of the most comprehensive nationwide. Dr. Panec was a primary supporter of initiating a Chinese program at Oak Park High School five years ago. She understands the importance of providing today's students with opportunities to develop and prepare themselves for a competitive, global economy.
In the more than twelve years that Dr. Panec has taught at Moorpark College she has also served as Life Sciences Department chair and as co-chair of the college's curriculum committee, helped to develop the college's industrial biotechnology program, and collaborated with colleagues to offer biotechnology workshops to secondary science teachers to introduce middle and high school students to careers in biotechnology. Biotechnology is a key industry in Ventura County.
Compassion for others has been important to Dr. Panec since childhood. Through the Peace Corps she taught chemistry for two years in a secondary school in Ghana, West Africa. In Ventura County, Dr. Panec volunteered her time conducting after school science classes and served as a Girl Scout co-leader. Dr. Panec attended California State University at Northridge, the University of San Diego, Wesleyan University, the University of California, Davis and the University of Southern California. She and her husband of 21 years have two college-age daughters.
Dr. Panec has the experience and background, the commitment to our community, and the global perspective necessary to champion the needs of our region. In addition to economic considerations these needs include thoughtful management of resources, consideration of values and priorities in decision-making, and concern for the good of everyone in developing policy.
"It is individuals that comprise our communities, to grow our communities we must support each other," Dr. Panec said. "We must provide opportunities for each individual so that we as a district, a state, and a nation can continue to grow and prosper."
For more information about Dr. Panec please visit Panec4Congress.com.
I know Marie Panec. She is smart and honest. Two qualities we could use more of in Washington. Opportunity built on a foundation of educational excellence! It works for me. Go to her website, panec4congress.com to find out more.
Betsy,
How do you know her? Would you classify her as a moderate or a progressive?
I'm still weighing the possibilities for Democrats. I'd really love to see one with a chance of winning in this district.
As an aside, may I suggest that you consider placing one poll at the top right sidebar (you can rotate them as you wish) rather than putting six or seven in your blog post? If I read your post and vote in the polls, I don't want to open a second blog post and see the same polls...it's a user experience thing. I'd suggest placing a fresh poll on your sidebar at the very top instead.
I teach a Biology class at Moorpark College, in the same department where Marie is on the full time faculty. If I have a question or problem, she is the person I go to for advice because she is smart, thoughtful, discrete, and honest. I was elected to the CVUSD School Board last year, and Marie is on the Oak Park Board, so we participate in Ventura County meetings together from time to time. She is held in high regard there as well. As for her politics, I would say that she is a moderate, more interested in hand-ups than hand-outs. Marie is not a "do-gooder" she is a person of substance who "does good." I think that she is someone who the more conservative members of our community could be very happy with.