but they ended up accumulating to millions of dollars.”
A defining moment occurred when the trustees were asked to approve a total of more than two million dollars in expenditures. Sunny recalls, “There was a two million dollar cumulative expenditure, and about 80% of it was for things under $25,000. And I said, 'Okay, what am I approving? How do we know we don't have any conflicts of interest? How do we know this is going to benefit students?' So I started abstaining on these votes, and that didn't go over too well. It ruffled some feathers.”
Sunny's approach to openness and transparency should not have come
as a surprise to her colleagues on the board. As the Contract Compliance Manager at the Port of Long Beach, Sunny is responsible for ensuring that all contracting at the Port is fair, equitable and transparent and businesses have a competitive and fair opportunity to compete for contracts.
And while Sunny may have caused a stir among her fellow trustees, her determined effort to bring greater transparency and accountability to the forefront was ultimately successful.
In November, 2014, LBCC Superintendent-President