Pollara Enters Pasadena City College Trustee Race, Setting Up Contest in Area 1

Francis Pollara, a Pasadena City College alumnus and La Cañada Flintridge city commissioner, has launched a campaign for the college’s Board of Trustees Area 1 seat, putting a second declared candidate into a November 2026 race that already includes former board president Geoffrey Baum.

The contest will decide who represents La Cañada Flintridge and the Linda Vista, San Rafael and Madison Heights neighborhoods of West Pasadena on the seven-member elected board that sets policy and approves the budget for the Pasadena Area Community College District.

The seat is currently held by Sandra Chen Lau, who is finishing her second term.

The November 2026 election date still requires confirmation from official election authorities.

Pollara has framed his priorities as strengthening PCC’s workforce and career pathways for an AI-driven economy, expanding clear, accessible paths from education to good jobs, and building stronger partnerships across education, industry, and community, grounded in fiscal oversight and accountability.

He also told followers he was running “with the support of the majority of the current board leadership” — a claim he has not detailed by name and which has not been independently verified.

On his campaign website, Pollara describes himself as the candidate who “combines the lived experience of a Pasadena City College Alumnus with the professional record to protect our investments and modernize the college.”

Pollara, a founding partner of the Los Angeles consulting firm Two° & Rising, has served as a city commissioner in La Cañada Flintridge since 2023, according to his Crunchbase profile, and previously served as an Entrepreneur In Residence for the City of Los Angeles. He holds an MBA from USC’s Marshall School of Business and a BFA in film from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. In May 2024, he joined the board of directors of the YMCA of the Foothills.

Chen Lau has not publicly announced whether she will seek a third term. Pollara, on his campaign site, said his candidacy is about ensuring “the progress we’ve made isn’t derailed by old grievances.”