Michelle Rains is Winning Against Incumbent Kartik Raju

THUMBS DOWN – Kartik Raju is more experienced and engaged in the Palomar community than Michelle Rains is, and was arguably the most congenial of all six of the candidates we interviewed. He should NOT be losing the Governing Board race. He’s served a year on the Governing Board after being appointed, has a diverse skill set, and expressed a love for being on campus and interacting with students, faculty, and staff. Rains, who gave the Telescope staff a 15-minute interview (the other interviews averaged around 25 minutes) has management experience and says she wants to represent students better, however, didn’t seem particularly well-informed about Palomar College, nor did she show the same amount of enthusiasm and passion for community colleges that Raju did. I am disappointed that she is leading in this race.