Dr. James Middleton, current president of College of Marin, California, has dropped out of contention as the next president of Cerritos Community College.

This leaves Dr. Jane Harmon, currently on leave as president of Adirondack Community College, as the sole candidate.

But is she the RIGHT candidate?

Harmon has a strong background in following directives from the Board of Trustees.

She has a strong background working with businesses and cultivating community support.

Her school received a $1 million endowment while she was president.

Harmon is coming from a school with an enrollment of under 3,000 students, where she failed to garner the support of the college community.

Harmon has been accused of using students only for photo opportunities and for having no open-door policy.

Dissatisfied administrators, faculty, and staff ousted Harmon from her term at Adirondack.

Harmon started innovative plans at Adirondack, but didn’t plan for funding of these programs, which caused a $100 rise in tuition.

Cerritos College has an enrollment of 21,681, as of Jan 31. Can she garner the support of the college community here?

Do we want a president who fails to have an open-door policy with students?

Do we want a president who alienates an entire campus?

Do we want a president who forces programs into implementation without proper planning?

Do we want fee increases?

Can we afford to pay a president a year’s salary to stay home, as Adirondack Community College has done?

We need a president who can balance the needs of the Board of Trustees, the community, the students, the faculty, and the support staff.

Is Jane Harmon the right person for the job? We don’t think so.

But maybe Interim President Morgan Lynn is.