A Cuesta College trustee is unfit for office. Recall him now or vote him out in 2022

Cuesta College board of trustees president Peter Sysak must go.

Since Sysak has defiantly refused to step down — even though every one of his fellow board members asked him to do so — a recall campaign is the best alternative.

It’s a big undertaking, but it’s the most effective remedy for dealing with an elected official who has shown himself to be unfit for office.

If that seems too daunting — especially after the draining election season that just ended — at the very least the search for qualified candidates who can challenge him in the 2022 election must begin now.

Sysak has created a toxic environment at the community college, especially for Black, Latino and LGBTQ students.

That’s evident from the Facebook posts he’s shared — which he’s since deleted — that refer to Black Lives Matter protesters as thugs, suggest gay people are immoral, degrade women in positions of power and show contempt for the Muslim faith, among other hateful and extreme views.

What’s more, Sysak is oblivious to the hurt he’s caused and insists he’s the one being bullied.

It takes a special kind of person to disparage others and then then somehow claim you’re the victim when you’re called on it.

And it’s not just his communications on social media that are troubling.

At a special board meeting held Thursday, longtime trustee Angela Mitchell revealed that Sysak is the reason she decided not to seek reelection this year.

“You dismiss women on a regular basis,” she told him, adding that he’s verbally attacked and demeaned women, including college President Jill Stearns.

Sysak’s response was straight out of a misogynist’s playbook: “I’m gonna have to have somebody interpret for me because you’re so emotional I couldn’t understand what you’re saying.”

For the record, Mitchell spoke clearly and was in total control of her emotions.

A parade of speakers, appearing both in person and on Zoom, called on Sysak to resign during Thursday’s meeting.

One of the most gut-wrenching comments came from a father who said he wouldn’t even consider Cuesta College as an option for his children.

While not a single person defended Sysak, there are undoubtedly members of the community who believe he’s being attacked for his conservative political beliefs.

That’s not what’s going on here.

It’s Sysak’s intolerance for opposing views and his disrespect for Black people, people of color, women, people of other faiths and gay and transgender people that make him unfit to hold any office, let alone one that puts him in charge of running an institution of higher education.

Nor is this a free speech issue.

As trustee Pat Mullen so aptly explained, “While everyone has a right to free speech, there are consequences to that speech.”

Like it or not, public officials are held to a higher standard of behavior. What they say and do reflects on the institution they serve. If they’re not willing to accept that, they shouldn’t be in office.

Sysak should have realized his Facebook posts were out of line and would have repercussions — especially since former San Luis Obispo County planning commissioner Jim Harrison was called out for sharing similar posts on social media last year, and wound up resigning following a public outcry.

That possibility apparently didn’t even cross Sysak’s mind, which is further evidence of the systemic racism that persists here — even though he and other SLO County officials deny it.

While this is a painful chapter for Cuesta College, at least Sysak’s intolerant views are now out in the open, so voters can make better-informed choices in the future.

Sysak, who was first elected to the board in 2014, represents Trustee Area 4, which includes Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, Oceano and Nipomo. Prior to joining the board, he was Cuesta’s campus police chief for 17 years.

Since he’s is an elected official, the board of trustees can censure him, but it can’t remove him. And even censuring — a formal expression of criticism — is a complicated process.

The board must first form an ad-hoc committee, which it did on Thursday, to study the evidence and report back to the full body, which will then take a vote.

Judging by his behavior at Thursday’s meeting, it’s unlikely that a vote for censure would faze Sysak.

Ultimately, it’s going to be up to the Area 4 voters who elected Sysak to now fire him, either through a recall or at the next election.

For the sake of the entire community — and especially for Cuesta College students, faculty and staff — we strongly urge voters to do just that.

This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 10:48 AM.