Cerritos College Trustee James Cody Birkey has officially launched his campaign for another term representing Trustee Area 3, beginning the 2026 campaign surrounded by a notable gathering of community, civic and education supporters at The Nest.
The kickoff was as much a look back at Cerritos College’s recent history as it was the beginning of Birkey official campaign. Birkey has served on the Cerritos Community College District Board of Trustees since 2017, representing Trustee Area 3, which includes much of Bellflower along with portions of neighboring communities.
A Bellflower resident with deep family ties to the area, Birkey brings an fresh professional and academic background to the community college board. He works in the real estate and public-sector advisory field and holds degrees in architecture and international economics from the University of Oregon as well as a master’s degree in real estate economics and finance from Harvard University, where he graduated with distinction and received the Mansfield-Colloredo Prize. But the centerpiece of Birkey’s campaign kickoff was not his résumé. It was Cerritos College’s record.
During the years Birkey has served on the Board, the College has experienced substantial growth in student completions and has received recognition for the economic value it provides students and the surrounding communities. In the 2024–25 academic year, Cerritos College awarded 9,291 degrees and certificates, marking what was then the fourth consecutive year of record-breaking completions. According to the College, that represented a 261 percent increase in awards over the previous decade. The College has also been ranked No. 1 in Los Angeles County for return on investment in higher education in research released by the College Futures Foundation and HEA Group. According to that analysis, Cerritos College graduates can recoup the cost of their education considerably faster than the regional average.
This impact extends beyond the campus. A labor market study commissioned by the Los Angeles Regional Consortium in collaboration with Lightcast estimated Cerritos College’s contribution to the regional economy at $537.4 million annually. The study also estimated that the activities of the College, its students and alumni support 5,599 jobs in the region. Those numbers formed an important backdrop to Birkey’s campaign launch and his basis for continuing the work begun during his tenure on the Board. Yet political campaigns are also about the person asking voters for another term.
The Olive Grove News attended the kickoff and had an opportunity to speak personally with Birkey. In a room filled with supporters and familiar community faces, his manner was notably warm and conversational. He moved easily among those attending, listening as much as talking and appearing comfortable discussing both the College and the community it serves. Birkey’s connections to Bellflower are personal as well as political. He and his wife were married at Town Center Plaza in Downtown Bellflower and are raising their two children in the community.
His professional career, meanwhile, has centered on advising public institutions on major investment and development decisions; experience that overlaps with some of the long-term financial, facilities and strategic questions faced by a community college district.
For voters, the 2026 election will ultimately be about more than credentials or statistics. It will be an opportunity to examine the College’s direction, the decisions made by its governing board and what its trustees propose for the next four years.
Birkey enters that conversation pointing to a period in which Cerritos College has recorded significant gains in completions, received recognition for its return on investment to students and demonstrated a substantial economic footprint throughout Southeast Los Angeles County.
His campaign message is built around taking Cerritos College “to new heights.”
With the campaign now underway, Trustee Area 3 voters will have the opportunity to decide what those next heights should be and who they want helping the College reach them.
The Olive Grove News does not endorse candidates for public office. Election and campaign coverage is provided to inform readers about candidates, issues and races affecting the communities we serve.
