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The November election could spur the Board of Trustees to revisit a policy that currently forbids campus police from carrying firearms. Of two candidates for the Board’s sole contested seat, neither is committed to our existing policy, and one has argued it’s time for a change.”If we know they don’t have guns, then the criminals know,” said Charles Nelson, running to replace retiring trustee Susanna Miele in Area 4 of the Pasadena Area Community College District. “Criminals carry weapons – let’s be real. Mace and batons don’t have a lot of influence when it’s time to say, ‘Stop!’ Before we can deal with other issues we have to deal with student safety.”

His opponent, Bill Thomson, agrees up to a point. “You can’t have students going to school if they aren’t safe,” Thomson said. “Being unarmed is an inviting target for mischief.”

Yet Thomson sees his own role as more of a broker among interest groups. “It’s not something I would be comfortable with taking a position on in advance,” he said. “This has to be a collective discussion between the guards, the administration and the Board of Trustees. I want to learn more about the viewpoints of affected parties and try to bring the parties to a resolution.”

Nelson just wants to get that discussion started. “No one’s looking at it, that’s my concern. I haven’t really heard the board discussing the matter. I would like for the board to revisit the issue. It may have been a good idea when Sen. Jack Scott was president. There’s a lot more violence, now.”

The candidates’ positions portend a renewed public discussion of arming campus police, and contrast the candidates’ differing styles and experience.

Nelson, a graduate of PCC and now deputy director of public works for Compton, brings personal experience to this issue. As a former PCC cadet, he knows the professionalism of campus officers, certified through the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.

“I work for a city that is no stranger to violence, and the right strategy is to be proactive,” he said. “My personal view is that if you’re POST-certified you should be able to carry a gun.”

Thomson can’t claim the same personal experience at PCC – he repeatedly refers to campus police as “security guards.” Yet, as a former Pasadena councilman and mayor, he is confident that his long experience in public affairs will help him build the consensus needed to deal with this complex issue.

“The solution to violence has to involve faculty and security guards, but also Pasadena police and the students,” Thomson said. “I have a lot of experience with this type of issue, [having] worked with the Pasadena Police.

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