Issue date: October 20, 1999

Community college board candidates

Civic service: Trustee, San Mateo County Community College, 1989-1997; former Millbrae mayor, city councilman and planning commissioner; former president, San Mateo County Visitors and Convention Bureau; participant, California Commission on Educational Policy.

Profession: Retired educator with 44 years of experience in San Mateo County as a high school administrator and teacher, community college district instructor; author.

Education: MA, BA, industrial technology, San Francisco State University; attended San Mateo Junior College, now College of San Mateo.

Years in district: 53

Age: 69

John J. "Jack" Hickey

Civic service: Involved in tax and education finance issues, including his 1979 Performance Voucher Initiative; candidate for several public offices, including Congress (in 1984), State Assembly, (1993, 1994 and 1998), Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Board (1998); taxpayers advocate, opposing tax measures and eminent domain.

Profession: Retired senior research scientist, formerly chief engineer for Dalmo-Victor, now Optics Technology; 28 patents in optics technology.

Education: Honorary BS in electrical engineering from Dalmo-Victor

Years in district: 34

Age: 65

Karen Schwarz

Civic service: Trustee, San Mateo County Community College District, 1995-present, including two years as board president; former member and president, San Mateo County Board of Education, 1988-1994; PTA leadership roles in South San Francisco Unified School District.

Profession: Owner, president of a Guevel & Schwarz, a union paint contracting company.

Education: Graduated from Northwestern School of Commerce, Portland, Oregon, business.

Years in district: 26

Age: 54

Margret Buckley Schmidt

Civic service: Treasurer, Libertarian Party of San Mateo County.

Profession: Manager, Web site for multiple listing service for five Bay Area counties, including San Mateo; engineering manager, supervising developers and quality assurance personnel; real estate broker for six years.

Education: BS, electrical engineering and computer science, University of California, Berkeley; completed real estate and business law courses at College of San Mateo; certificate in training and human resource development, University of San Cruz Extension.

Years in district: Almost 10 years

Age: 28

Patricia Miljanich

Civic service: Trustee, San Mateo County Community College District, 1995-present; former legislative aide to Assemblyman Ted Lempert.

Profession: Coordinator, Child Advocates, a nonprofit agency serving abused children; program developer-coordinator of "Street Law," a practical law course taught by law students to middle and high school students, at University of San Francisco and University of Santa Clara Law schools; licensed attorney, specializing in nonprofit law management; teacher at elementary, middle and law schools.

Education: BS, elementary education, University of Virginia; JD, University of San Francisco Law School.

Years in district: 11 years

Age: 46

Thomas L. Constantino

Civic service: Trustee, San Mateo County Community College District, 1986-present, serving as board president twice; president of the district's educational foundation; retired colonel in Marine Reserve with 31 years of service; member, citizen advisory committees in the San Mateo elementary school district; former board member, Serra High School.

Profession: Manager, Visa International, Foster City; former administrative aide to congressmen Pete McCloskey and Bill Royer.

Education: Attended College of San Mateo; BA, University of Portland.

Years in district: Life-long county resident

Age: 55

Robert Bentley

Civic service: Volunteer lobbyist in Sacramento on behalf of University of California system, human relations commissioner for city of San Mateo, president of Belmont Arts Council; recipient of the National Teachers Medal from the Freedom Foundation, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

Profession: Educator with 27 years of experience as a teacher in the Belmont Elementary School and San Mateo Union High School districts; owner of The Village Shop, a gift shop in Half Moon Bay; member, Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Radio and Television Artists.

Education: Associate in Arts degree, College of San Mateo; first transfer student from CSM to University of California, Santa Cruz, major in American history; MA in teaching, College of Notre Dame.

Years in district: Lifelong resident of San Mateo County

Age: 52



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