Catalina E. Garcia, M.D., will represent District 1.
Media Contact: Debra Dennis;
ddennis@dallascollege.edu
For immediate release — June 28, 2022
(DALLAS) — New trustee-elect Catalina E. Garcia, M.D., and trustee Paul Mayer, who was elected in May, will be representing Districts 1 and 3, respectively, as the newest board members to join the Dallas College Board of Trustees, while incumbent Phil Ritter, who also won re-election in May, will represent District 2 for another six years.
Garcia was sworn in at a special meeting of the Dallas College Board of Trustees earlier today. An anesthesiologist by training, Garcia will serve only a two-year term, taking over the seat of the late J.L. “Sonny” Williams, whose term expires in 2024. District 1 attracted three candidates, including Gretchen Minyard Williams, who was appointed by the board last year to fill the seat left vacant by her husband after he died in July 2021. Gretchen Williams placed third after not garnering enough votes to place in the top two spots during the May primary, which was so close it triggered a runoff election.
Paul Mayer will represent District 3.
Paul Mayer, the longtime CEO of the Garland Chamber of Commerce and a former teacher, was sworn in earlier this month. Mayer has been the CEO of the Garland chamber since 1989. Trustee Dorothy Zimmermann, who served District 3 for six years, decided not to seek re-election, opening that seat to new candidates, including Dallas attorney Soji John, who ran unsuccessfully.
Incumbent Ritter overcame a challenge from Eugene J. Robinson to retain his District 2 seat. Ritter, a businessperson, was first elected in 2016. He is vice chair of the board. Dallas College Board Chair Monica Lira Bravo did not have a challenger in this year’s election. An attorney, Bravo has represented District 4 since 2016.
“We are pleased to welcome our new members to the board of trustees at Dallas College,” Chair Bravo said. “As trustees, we value the diversity of thought embodied across our board, whose individual and professional backgrounds make them invaluable to the governance of the college, as well as representative of the will of Dallas County taxpayers. We are grateful for their service.”
The Dallas College Board of Trustees consists of
seven members whose duties include approving annual budgets and setting policies for Dallas College. During normal election cycles, board members serve six-year terms without compensation.
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