College board members unchallenged in November election

Dr. Shin Liu represents Norwalk on the Cerritos College Board of Trustees. Up for re-election, she is running unopposed.

NORWALK – Three incumbents on the Cerritos College Board of Trustees will serve another four years after they were unchallenged in next month’s election.

James Cody Birkey (area 3), Dr. Shin Liu (area 5) and Zurich Lewis (area 7) will serve a four-year term from 2018 to 2022.

It is the first time in the college’s history that all board incumbents are uncontested. Elections are held biennially in November of each even-numbered year; there is no limit on the number of terms that college board members may serve.

Cerritos College officials called the uncontested election a sign of “stable leadership.”

Zurich Lewis was elected to the board in 2014 and is currently in his second year as board president. He is a lifelong resident of La Mirada and serves as president of the La Mirada Rotary Club. He works as a law clerk for the Law Office of Lewis & Lewis.

He represents area 7, which encompasses parts of Norwalk, Santa Fe Springs, La Mirada, Cerritos and South Whittier.

Dr. Shin Liu was first elected to the board in 2009 and is currently board vice president. She is a tenured professor of computer science at Rio Hondo College with field expertise as a software and network engineer certified by Microsoft and Cisco.

She represents area 5, which includes parts of Norwalk, Artesia, Cerritos and Santa Fe Springs.

James Cody Birkey was appointed to the board in June 2017. A resident of Bellflower, he is vice president at JLL, where he advises public institutions regarding strategic capital investments. He is active in several non-profits and community initiatives across Southeast Los Angeles County.

He represents area 3, which covers portions of Downey, South Gate, Bellflower and Cerritos.