A Bond Watchdog Wants a Seat at the Table: Dennis McNamara Seeks Open PUSD Board Post

For the past four years, Dennis McNamara has watched how the Pasadena Unified School District spends its bond money. Now he wants a seat on the board to ensure the District prepares and follows a comprehensive master plan.

McNamara, a longtime Pasadena financial executive, now retired, serves on the volunteer committee that monitors PUSD’s $1.4 billion school-modernization bond program and is running for the District 7 seat on the Board of Education against Cynthia Torres. The seat is open because Dr. Yarma Velázquez, the current board vice president, announced she will not seek re-election. She has endorsed McNamara campaign, according tio his campaign.

District 7 stretches from the Linda Vista neighborhood in west Pasadena to Madison Heights. The seat is one of three — along with Districts 1, and 3— on the ballot this fall. PUSD’s seven-member board is elected by geographic district to staggered four-year terms, and races are decided by plurality, meaning the candidate with the most votes wins without a runoff.

In an interview with Pasadena Now, McNamara reduced his platform to a single sentence.

“I am running to bring the full benefits and promise of public education to every student. Not just some, but all, especially those who need the most help. The same benefits my children received in public schools, K through 12,” he said. “My vision for PUSD is straightforward: a state-of-the-art, high-achieving school district commensurate with the ideals and values of our community — a district of pride and prominence.”

McNamara said he sees reason for optimism despite the challenges the district faces.

“PUSD has many strengths on which to build,” he said in a press release. “Our dual-language immersion programs, International Baccalaureate curriculum, and strong partnership with Pasadena City College are outstanding assets. We also have dedicated families who care deeply about our schools. I want to channel that energy into strengthening classroom instruction, expanding opportunities for every student, and creating an environment where educators can collaborate and share best practices.”

In April 2025, McNamara was elected Chair of the PUSD Citizens’ Oversight Committee, the independent body required under Proposition 39 to monitor expenditures from the district’s voter-approved Measures O and R.

Measure O, a $516.3 million bond approved by voters in 2020, and Measure R, a $900 million bond approved in 2024, together fund the district’s school modernization program. The committee reviews proposed expenditures, monitors construction progress, and submits an annual report to the board. Unfortunately, modernizing all of the district’s facilities would cost far more than the available funds.

McNamara’s professional background, according to his campaign statement, includes more than two decades at Pasadena-based Western Asset Management, a global fixed-income investment firm headquartered at 385 East Colorado Boulevard. McNamara said he held an executive leadership role overseeing budgeting, staffing, and information systems for the firm’s global investment team. He holds a Chartered Financial Analyst designation and both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago, according to the statement. He has also taught finance at West Coast University.

Asked how his oversight experience would shape board decisions, McNamara said he would focus on a comprehensive spending plan.

“In the case of the Measure O and R, which as you know, have authorized $1.4 billion — that’s not enough to modernize all schools,” he said. “And so my view and that of the COC has been, we need a master plan. We need a comprehensive master plan built off an educational vision of what our students need and grounded in our financial reality.”

On campus safety and fire recovery — a pressing concern in a district still reckoning with the aftermath of the January 2025 Eaton Fire — McNamara said health and safety spending is non-negotiable.

“We have to prioritize campus safety and we have to give our families confidence that when they leave children with us, they will be protected,” he said. The district and the City of Pasadena are engaged in ongoing litigation over PUSD’s post-fire soil remediation work, which includes plans to remove trees the City contends are protected under its Tree Protection Ordinance.

McNamara and his wife supported their children through public schools from kindergarten through high school, according to his press release. He has volunteered as a math tutor at Washington Elementary through PUSD’s Math Power Hour program for the past three years, serves as a college scholarship evaluator for the Pasadena Community Foundation, and sits on the board of First Tee–Greater Pasadena, a youth development organization that teaches life skills through the game of golf.

According to his campaign materials, he and his wife support the Pasadena Educational Foundation.

McNamara credited Velázquez for her service and said she encouraged him to consider running when she decided to step aside.

“I am grateful for Yarma’s service and her deep commitment to the students, families and the entire PUSD community,” he said in his campaign statement. “I especially appreciate her focus on academic achievement — a commitment I will continue if elected.”

McNamara’s campaign website is DennisForPUSD.com and can be reached at DennisforPUSD@gmail.com.

McNamara, asked to leave voters with one thought, circled back to student achievement.

“Every decision the school board and the district makes has to be through the lens of what is best for students, both student achievement and student experience. We need to elevate students.”