Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/458422
Candidate for CTA Secretary-Treasurer Dana Dillon Member, Weed Classroom Teachers Association; CTA Board of Directors member. Candidate for CTA Secretary-Treasurer Tyrone V. Cabell Member, Los Angeles County Education Association; CTA Board of Directors member. As a special education teacher of the severely handicapped for over thirty seven years, I started my teaching career with the Los Angeles Unified School District and am currently employed by the Los Angeles County Office of Education. Prior to teaching, I was a para-educator for four years and a member of California School Employees Association. Educated in the Los Angeles Unified School District, I earned my associates' degree from the Los Angeles Harbor Community College. I was awarded my Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University Dominquez Hills. I also received my multiple subject and severely handicapped credentials from California State University Los Angeles. I later earned my Masters of Arts in education from United States International University in San Diego. In the 1970's, I started my association work as a local representative. Then I ran for office and held the position of treasurer for three terms, vice chair for two terms and eventually was elected President of the Los Angeles County Education Association for two terms. Then on the state level I began my service to the Southeastern Service Center as the treasurer for four years prior to being elected Service Center Chair for five years. For more than thirty years I have attended the Representative Assembly to the National Education Association as a delegate. I was elected Chair of the CTA African American Caucus for four years after serving as both the vice chair and treasurer for six years previous to my stint as chair. I then represented the caucus on the Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee for six years. As a thirty year member of the special education committee, I now serve as the Board liaison at State Council. In 2007 I was elected to the California Teachers Association Board of Directors for District L and have served for the last eight years. I was appointed to the Guy DeRosa & Martin Luther King Scholarship committees. I am currently serving on the Summer Institute, and Training and Development Committees representing the CTA Board. I have been the recipient of both a local "WHO" from LACEA twice and was honored to win the state "WHO" from the Southeastern Service Center. I want CTA to move forward with their own agenda across the state of California. We are the experts and our voices need to be heard. I believe in putting MEMBERS FIRST. As a CTA Board member, NEA Board member, and as a CalSTRS Trustee, I have acted for the benefit of each and every member of CTA – north to south, east to west, pre-K to Higher Education, rural and urban. No other candidate for Secretary-Treasurer brings such wealth of experience and depth of knowledge. Building relationships, practicing fiduciary responsibility, and advocating for all members on the local, state, and national level are all hallmarks of a leader that we need in CTA. I am that leader. As a leader, I have served our members on the local, state, and national fronts for over twenty years, through good times and bad. I am one of the first teachers ever elected to the CalSTRS Board, serving as Chair during some of the hardest times CalSTRS has faced. Just as our pensions are under attack, so too are CTA and public education in general. We must be prepared to take on the challenges that we will face. We must change as we implement the Long Term Strategic Plan. Members must be heard. By listening to members' wants and needs, we can implement action to empower members. Empowered members will continue the battles, hard fought and won, that have increased the quality of our professional lives. We must organize within our union and our communities. When we begin to understand the needs of our communities and they begin to understand ours, we will be able to support each other's efforts. We will stand together, united, so the promise of a free quality public education will become a reality for all students. Together, we will advance a student-centered, educator-driven, union-led agenda for California's students. CTA must elect a Secretary-Treasurer proven in fiduciary responsibility and integrity to ensure our members, chapters, and state organization have the funds, resources, and support we all need and deserve. My knowledge, understanding, and leadership experience at all levels of CTA/NEA and CalSTRS enable me to serve our members well and make me the most qualified candidate for CTA Secretary-Treasurer. CTA members have elected me to serve them on the CalSTRS Board for three terms. They have entrusted me to safeguard the retirement fund that will provide for the security they need and deserve in retirement. I ask that you once again give me your trust. Elect me, Dana Dillon as your next CTA Secretary-Treasurer. Cabell Dillon Below are campaign statements of candidates for CTA officers in the April 2015 State Council elections. The statements are unedited and limited to 400 words. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are those of the candidates and not necessarily those of CTA and NEA. 59 V O L U M E 1 9 I S S U E 6