Tight race for PCC board still undecided

With early ballots and about a third of Election Day precincts reporting Tuesday night, fewer than 300 votes separated Michael Duran and Mark Hanna in the race to claim the seat being vacated by longtime PCC board member Brenda Even.

The District 1 seat was the only one up for grabs in this election under the Governing Board’s staggered term system.

The candidates, both PCC alumni, each campaigned on the need to restore integrity to the college, which is fighting to remain accredited after being placed on probation last year.

Duran touted his executive experience as a vice president at Tucson Medical Center, while Hanna cited his experience as a counselor as Catalina Magnet High School.

Neither candidate has held elected office before, though each has years of volunteer service on nonprofit boards.

Duran is board chair of Tucson Values Teachers and has worked in the past with charities serving families and the elderly. Hanna serves on the board of PCC’s fundraising foundation and is board president of the UA’s Hillel Foundation, which provides services to Jewish students.

The winner will join a PCC Governing Board that remains dominated by members deemed “dysfunctional” in the accreditor’s report that led to the probation sanction.

PCC should find out in February whether the accreditor has regained enough confidence in the college to take it off probation.

The swearing-in ceremony for new PCC board members typically is held in January. The board positions are unpaid and run for a term of six years.