Board of Trustees, Center Unified School District, CA

Available to speak on the following subjects:
Education

Bio
In 1999, Gary Blenner joined the Green Party, and became interested in local community politics. In November 2005, he ran for the Center Unified School District Board of Trustees as a replacement candidate in a special recall election. Despite being outspent 10-1 by a well-financed opponent, he was able to finish a respectable second place with 32% of the vote. In November 2006, Blenner was elected to the school board on his second try, finishing in first place with 32% of the vote, and defeating his nearest opponent by 7%. He credits his surprise victory to good old-fashioned grassroots organizing and campaigning.

Blenner was born October 26, 1966 in Queens, NY. In December 1979, he and his family moved to Fremont, CA, and he graduated from Mission San Jose High School in 1984. He attended the University of California, Davis from 1984-1988, graduating in June 1988 with BA degrees in Political Science and History. He then attended California State University, Chico from 1988-1989, and California State University, Sacramento from 1989-1990 working towards an MA in Government. From 1990-1992, he attended Lincoln Law School of Sacramento.

Deciding the corporate lawyer lifestyle wasn't for him, Blenner dropped out of law school in November 1992, and enrolled in the Teacher Credential Program at National University in August 1993. In August 1994, he was hired as a social science instructor at Rio Americano High School in Sacramento, where he currently teaches today. In 1998, Gary was elected by his colleagues as Chairperson of the Social Science Department. Blenner continues to be an active leader in the struggle for a diverse and progressive educational curriculum, culminating in his MA degree in Educational Technology from National University in October 2006. He is also involved on a variety of political fronts, from peace activism to exposing local condominium-conversion developer fraud. He currently resides in Antelope, CA.

Back