Pasadena Mediator David Coher Challenges Incumbent for PCC Board Seat Covering Northwest Pasadena and Altadena

David Coher started his college career at Long Beach City College, transferred to USC on a scholarship, and went on to earn a law degree from Georgetown. Now the Pasadena mediator and attorney wants a seat on the board that governs the community college system where that kind of journey begins.

Coher, 49, filed in August to run for the Pasadena Area Community College District Board of Trustees, Trustee Area 3 — the district that includes Northwest Pasadena and part of southwest Altadena.

He is challenging incumbent Dr. Steve Gibson, who joined the board in 2022 and currently serves as its president.

Coher brings a record of appointed civic service in Pasadena. City of Pasadena records show he was appointed to the Planning Commission as a District 1 nominee in July 2015 and served until 2023. He served as Chair of the Planning Commission from 2019-2020 and also served on the Board of Zoning Appeals for the duration of his service on the Planning Commission.

In April 2026, the Pasadena City Council voted 5-0 to appoint Coher to the city’s Rental Housing Board, selecting him from a field of 10 qualified applicants.

Councilmember Rick Cole, who moved to appoint him, said he was influenced by his experience serving alongside Coher on the Planning Commission.

“I have the highest regard for what he would bring to the board,” Cole said, according to Pasadena Now’s report on the appointment.

Professionally, Coher operates Coher ADR, a mediation and arbitration practice based at 530 South Lake Avenue in Pasadena. He is listed on the alternative dispute resolution panel for the U.S. District Court, Central District of California, and serves as an arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

Before launching his practice, he held multiple roles at Southern California Edison, including positions in energy contracts management and cybersecurity, according to a sworn 2022 filing with the California Public Utilities Commission and his professional resume.

In an interview with Pasadena Now, Coher pointed to his own community college experience as a motivating factor.

“I’ve lived that on-ramp that PCC exists to provide,” Coher said. “I myself started at community college, Long Beach City College, transferred to USC on a scholarship. Later was able to earn a JD with honors from Georgetown, also on scholarship. I think a lot of people who make policy about community college access haven’t necessarily lived the experience as I have.”

Coher identified fiscal oversight as his central concern. He said PCC’s growth — including the January 2026 groundbreaking on a construction trades lab on the main campus and the expansion of a permanent satellite campus in Rosemead — is occurring against an increasingly unstable state and federal funding picture.

“The whole harmless cushion that used to protect districts such as PCC from swings in the funding formula, that’s now expired,” Coher said. “The career and technical education programs, which are crucial, their funding is also under pressure too, as the state has cut those statewide programs by roughly 20 percent.”

Coher said he would approach the college’s budget — which he described as north of $230 million a year, driven largely by state apportionment and local property tax — the same way he reviewed infrastructure contracts during his years at Edison: distinguishing one-time money from ongoing revenue and identifying what is contingent on enrollment or a state budget vote before committing to it.

Coher also drew a direct line between his candidacy and the Eaton Fire recovery, noting that Trustee Area 3 reaches into West Altadena, where residents lost homes in the January 2025 blaze.

“The same ground that held donated water and diapers and other supplies in January of ’25 as the flames still burned is going to be where we’re training welders, electricians, and other builders in the region that are needed for rebuilding,” Coher said, referring to the construction trades lab site.

He said his work on the Planning Commission included pushing for local hire provisions in Pasadena development projects, but that the policy revealed a limited number of local workers with the required construction skills — a gap he argued PCC is positioned to close.

Asked how his mediation philosophy would shape his approach to a seven-member governing board, Coher pointed to his track record of consensus building.

“Four to three votes that never engage the three don’t resolve anything,” he said. “It just guarantees a second round. It just pushes off the fight. We have to find a way to come together to ensure the strength of the institution of PCC while we’re facing so many other challenges from the state, from the federal government, and even here at home.”

Coher said he wants voters to focus on completion rates alongside enrollment growth.

“Getting more people in the door doesn’t necessarily lead to positive results if it means the road out keeps stretching,” he said.

For more, visit https://coherforpcc.com/