By Daily Press staff
Santa Monica College trustee Graham Pope has announced he will not seek election to keep the seat he has held for the past seven months.
Pope’s seat is one of three open in the Nov. 2 election.
“I have been very appreciative of the support of SMC President Piedad Robertson and fellow board members during my period of service,” Pope said. “I also wish to commend the president and the board for their efforts on behalf of the college and the community at large during these difficult financial times.
“However, increased business commitments and other matters have steered my decision not to seek election,” he said.
Pope — a certified public accountant and business leader with extensive ties to SMC — was appointed Nov. 3, 2003 to the college’s board of trustees for one year to fill the unexpired term of former trustee Patrick Nichelson.
“Graham Pope has been an outstanding trustee whose financial acumen and deep commitment to the college have been great contributions,” Robertson said. “He will be very much missed."
Long affiliated with the college, Pope was a board member of the SMC Foundation, serving as its president for two years, and was the first chair of the SMC Citizens Bond Oversight Committee, which oversees the college’s implementation of Measure U, the 2002 voter-approved bond for facilities.
He also was treasurer of the Measure U campaign committee — a $160 million bond measure passed by voters. Pope also served on SMC’s 1995 Presidential Search Committee and on the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Budget Advisory Committee. He is a member of the Rotary Club.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 4, 2004. Read the original PDF.