Gordo, the first member of his family to attend college, continued his education at Azusa Pacific University, and later worked his way through the University of La Verne College of Law while holding a full-time job.
“The education I received at Pasadena City College prepared me for a career as an attorney, a member of the Pasadena City Council and, ultimately, Mayor of Pasadena,” Gordo said. “The professors and counselors there gave me the skills and the confidence I needed to move forward in law and in politics.”
“As one of our city’s most treasured institutions, PCC provides the first step toward becoming a doctor, a teacher, or a business leader,” he added. “For other students, it provides the training for a good career or the skills to start a business. There is no single path to success, and PCC needs to be there for all of them. Geoff Baum understands that mission and has the experience to help the college deliver on it. I am proud to endorse him for the PCC Board of Trustees.”
Baum said Gordo is a leader who shows up, listens, and gets things done.
“We have worked together for years, and I have seen firsthand the commitment he brings to public service. I am grateful for his friendship, his leadership, and his support.”
Gordo will join Baum on Thursday, Sept. 3, at a private residence in West Pasadena, for the first in a series of community conversations Baum is holding about Pasadena City College and its role in the region. For details, email geoff@geoffreybaum.org.
Baum served three terms on the PCC Board of Trustees, including twice as board president, and five years as an officer of the Pasadena City College Foundation.
He served 12 years on the California Community Colleges Board of Governors, including two terms as its president. During those years, the board oversaw the statewide implementation of the Associate Degree for Transfer program and, in 2015, with Baum presiding as president, approved the first 12 California community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees. He has since pushed for zero-textbook-cost degree pathways and worked on their implementation.
The Pasadena City College Board of Trustees election is nonpartisan. Trustee Area 1 covers La Cañada Flintridge and the Pasadena neighborhoods of Linda Vista, San Rafael, West Pasadena, Downtown Pasadena, and Madison Heights. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026.
For more information about Geoff Baum and the campaign for PCC Board of Trustees, visit https://geoffreybaum.org/.
Get our daily Pasadena newspaper in your email box. Free.
Get all the latest Pasadena news, more than 10 fresh stories daily, 7 days a week at 7 a.m.
