SAN MARCOS — Three seats on the Palomar College Governing Board are up for election in November, with a mix of incumbents and challengers appearing on the ballot.
The five-member board oversees the functions of the 31,000-student community college in San Marcos. Seats for areas 2, 3 and 4 are up for election this year.
Board members are elected to four-year terms by trustee area. In 2022, the Area 4 seat was also up for election when Michelle Rains was elected to finish the four-year term of Brian Olsen, who resigned the previous year.
Rains will now run for a full four-year term this November. She is challenged by UC San Diego professor Holly Hamilton Bleakley and nonprofit director Ami Admire. Area 4 is the college’s largest district by land area, covering Poway, Ramona, Julian, Borrego Springs, and parts of Valley Center and Escondido.
Board President Roberto Rodriguez is running unopposed for re-election to his Area 3 seat, representing south San Marcos, Del Dios, La Jolla Valley and Rancho Peñasquitos. He was first elected to the board in 2020 and is seeking his second term.
Two challengers are running for the Area 2 seat representing central San Marcos and Escondido. Edward Pohlert is a counselor and Faculty Director for Retention Services at MiraCosta College, and Yvette Marie Acosta is a school counselor and psychologist at Escondido High School.
Cassandra Schaeg, appointed to the Area 2 seat in 2023, is not seeking re-election.
