Fourth Consecutive Young Green elected to Napa Valley College Board of Trustees

For four consecutive terms the Napa Valley College Board of Trustees will have a Green Student Trustee.
 
Gabriel Sanchez 19, was elected in an April 29th-30th election, for a one year term through May 2016. Sanchez served as Senator of Science, Mathematics, and Engineering in Associated Students of Napa Valley College (ASNVC) prior to running. 
 
Sanchez follows young Greens April Clary, Alex Shantz and Ruscal Cayangyang as Student Trustees going back to 2012. 
 
With 55% of the vote, Sanchez beat the sitting ASNVC president by engaging students and running on a progressive and ecological platform. His campaign called for increased student participation and administrative transparency, divestment from fossil fuels to invest in clean energy, improved bicycle infrastructure in preparation for the Napa Vine Trail, and increased vegan and vegetarian food options on campus. 
 
"I'm a Green because no other party truly supports environmental causes," expains Sanchez. Majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering, he plans on attending UC Santa Cruz after graduating from Napa Valley College. 
 
Sanchez will join Green Party member Amy Martenson who was elected to the Napa Valley College Board of Trustees in the 2014 November election. Martenson was able to form a diverse alliance of Greens, progressive Democrats, conservative taxpayer advocates, students and student leaders, faculty, and classified staff. 
 
Former Student Trustees Alex Shantz and Ruscal Cayangyang now both serve on local school boards. Last November Shantz, a resident of Napa County, secured a seat on the St. Helena Unified School District Board of Trustees in an uncontested election. A few months later Cayangyang, a Solano County Green, was appointed to an unscheduled vacancy on the Vallejo City Unified School District Board of Trustees after coming in 4th place for three seats in a hotly contested election. 
 
“These small victories are important because they demonstrate, that in winnable elections, citizens vote for candidates with Green Party values,” explains Glynda Velasco, co-coordinator for the Napa County Green Party. “This is the best way for us to make a case for why Greens should be voted to serve in higher offices.”
 
Currently 64 California Greens hold publicly elected office.  Since the party's founding in 1990, over 325 California Greens have been elected to public office.
County: 
Statewide