August 22, 2019

Dear Dr. Romali,

Please accept this as my formal complaint against Trustee Sunny Zia for the blatantly blasphemous
behavior she demonstrated against me at our Board meeting on July 24, 2019. Trustee Zia violated
the Long Beach Community College District (LBCCD) Code of Ethics multiple times during that
meeting, and although not formally charged, on other occasions. I am filing this complaint in
accordance with LBCCD Governance Policy and Regulation #2014 - Board of Trustees' Code of
Ethics/Standards of Practice. The LBCCD Governance Policy for the Board of Trustees' Code of
Ethics/Standards of Practice states the following:

"Members of the Board of Trustees of the Long Beach Community College District have been elected
by the voters of their community. Trustees shall be independent, impartial and responsible in their
governance of the District and shall conduct themselves in an ethical manner that does not present the
appearance of a conflict of interest. The LBCCD Board of Trustees maintains high standards of ethical
behavior for its members."

The policy was violated by Trustee Zia on July 24, 2019 by her failure to:

1. conduct herself in a responsible manner

2. maintain the high standards of ethical conduct for Board members
3. avoid a conflict of interest

This complaint is being submitted as required by LBCCD Administrative Regulation 2014.5 due to
Trustee Zia’s unethical behavior outlined in LBCCD Administrative Regulation 2014, Board of Trustees'
Code of Ethics/Standards of Practice. I feel that Trustee Zia made multiple personal attacks against me
as an individual and against my religious faith. She continues to promote an atmosphere of animosity
and does not treat other Trustees with basic dignity or respect. According to these polices, I have the
responsibility to report this unethical behavior.
Twice during the Board meeting of July 24, 2019, Trustee Zia openly and publicly criticized my
religious beliefs while on the dais, and while serving the public as an elected member of our college
Board, without cause. Please reference the college’s YouTube channel for that meeting date in the
third and fourth hours of the meeting at 3:51 and again at 4:25. An individual’s religion has no
business being mentioned during a public board meeting that has been televised on free public access
channels numerous times, and that is available for the public to view via our easily accessible social
media channels. Given the political climate of our country at this time, which Trustee Zia often
mentions, I believe that she deliberately endangered me, my family, and our college community by
making a public reference to my religion during a Board meeting. What relevance does my religion
have to the college business that was at hand?

In addition to chastising and mocking me, I think that Trustee Zia’s disparaging comments were an
intentional effort to intimidate and harass me on the basis of my religion, which is one of the
protected classes under applicable anti-discrimination laws. In what I perceive to be her attempt to
publicly shame me, her comments have exposed the District to potential litigation by a third party
who, on the basis of Trustee Zia’s comments, has felt or experienced discrimination based on her/his
own religion. Trustee Zia’s behavior may dangerously give license to others to follow suit in openly
criticizing one’s faith. We are all responsible to protect others against possible further damage from
her actions.

Although her actions will not dissuade me from carrying out my duties as an elected official, Trustee
Zia’s behavior could be interpreted as creating a dangerous environment where civil discord is
weaponized against individuals to silence varying viewpoints. Although we see this in the national
political arena, it is wholly unacceptable to bring these bully tactics to our local district which prides
itself on diversity and inclusion. We should be mindful of her words as a Trustee and the impact they
will have on our students, our faculty, and our staff.

These recent outbursts are not isolated incidents. Trustee Zia often exhibits passive aggressive
behavior and bully tactics against her fellow board members. In previous meetings, she has
personally threatened both Trustee Ntuk and myself, as well as alluded to denying Trustee Otto and
me our meeting stipend for leaving early – even though she knew that the early departures were due
to pending board travel. Trustee Zia has also made public remarks such as “now you know who your
friends are” to meeting guests when her desire to pass a poorly written agenda item failed. This
behavior is completely unacceptable and has gone on far too long.

As Board Chair, it is my duty to maintain order at our meetings and to make sure that there are no
personal or political issues that could distract from the important district business on the
agenda. Too many times meeting discussions about college operations have been overshadowed by
Trustee Zia’s callous, inappropriate, and rude remarks to her colleagues. It is my intention to run
more professional meetings which is why I am stepping up to address this issue now, early in my
term, to prevent further embarrassment to the District.

I am very concerned by her ability to serve the college community impartially and without prejudice.
Sometimes, I have seen Trustee Zia become so enraged that her entire demeanor impairs her ability
to make good decisions and to act with civility. She often verbally attacks other Board members. She
has been disrespectful to me several times. I am afraid that she will continue to insult me and that
her reference to my religion was just the beginning. Her behavior has gotten worse over time and I
think that it will surely escalate. Which of my personal characteristics will she pick on next? The fact
that I am an immigrant? That I am Latina? That I was adopted? That my children are of mixed
ethnicities? Will students and staff fear that they will be treated in this same manner if they ever
disagree with her? Or, worse yet, will this set an acceptable standard at LBCCD for how we treat each
other? It is my opinion that Trustee Zia’s judgement has become so impaired that more and more,
she cannot represent the college district with distinction and poise. I also opine that she cannot be
trusted to conduct herself professionally when meeting discussions become intense or when anyone
challenges her. Trustee Zia’s code of ethics violations create a toxic atmosphere during our meetings.

Also, I would like to express my disappointment at Trustee Zia’s non-agenda presentation to her
employer at the June 26, 2019 board meeting. Not only is the Port of Long Beach one of our premiere
partners in the College Promise, they are also our anchor partner in the Maritime Center of
Excellence, and now one of the founding members in our Center for Community Partnerships. As
much as we appreciate the Port’s commitment to the district, I do not think that it needs another
recognition from the college at this time. However, Trustee Zia singled the Port out of 60 community
partners and bestowed upon it yet another recognition. That action is already dubious since that is
her employer, but it is even more distasteful considering that she was at the time, an internal
candidate applying for a promotion to the Government Affairs Director of the Port. In addition to the
gesture not being on the agenda, it was also not disclosed to the rest of the Board. Unlike my
recognition of a student for his service to the college at the same meeting, which I did request to be
agendized, and which posed no conflict of interest. Having both the Executive Director and the
President of the Harbor Commission present to receive this random and unannounced award is an
example of Trustee Zia putting her personal interests ahead of the Board, the college, and our
students. To me, she was not acting in the best interest of the entire community, but solely in her
own best interest. That is a violation of our Ethics Code and potentially the law.

In addition to lodging this formal complaint, I request that this issue be agendized as a regular (not
closed session) item at the August 28, 2019 board meeting due to her conduct being unbecoming of a
board member. I request that Trustee Zia be publicly censured for her actions, and that she be
required to attend training such as the new trustee conference sponsored annually by the Association
of Community College Trustees (ACCT) and the Effective Trustee Program by the Community College
League of California (CCLC). However, I yield my requests to whatever is the pleasure of the Board to
allow my colleagues to decide the outcome of this matter, and that they have a say and a vote in any
disciplinary action that should befall upon Trustee Zia.

As I understand the Board policy, there is a requirement that the Board President attempt to resolve
any complaints against other Board members, but I would like to defer that responsibility to the
Board Vice President as it would pose a conflict for me, since I am the originator of the complaint.
Furthermore, I delegate to the Board Vice president the authority to determine if a resolution has
been reached, or if my request to place this action item on the agenda should be upheld.

Thank you for your consideration.

Respectfully submitted,
Vivian Malauulu (electronic-signed)
Vivian Malauulu
President, LBCCD Board of Trustees
Trustee, Area 2