Long-time Chabot-Las Positas Community College District Trustee Dr. Marshall Mitzman died Tuesday afternoon. The cause of death was covid-19. He was 73.

Mitzman was elected in 2008 to represent Hayward’s Area 1 on the Chabot-Las Positas Board of Trustees.

“A steady leader, a thoughtful policy maker, and he always puts students front and center of his work,” Hayward Councilmember Mark Salinas wrote on Facebook. “Dr. Mitzman talked the talk and walked the walk when it came to equity. Chabot College African American Students and Latinx Students directly benefited from his work and philanthropy. Rest easy Marshall, and thank you for everything you did for Chabot College students and the City of Hayward.”

Mitzman was a patient at the Gateway Care and Rehabilitation Center in Hayward that is the epicenter of Alameda County’s largest outbreak of covid-19. He had been suffering from a brain tumor since January.

More than 60 residents and staff members have contracted covid-19.

Twelve patients have now died at the facility within the last two weeks, including the grandmother of Union City Councilmember Jaime Patino, who passed away on Monday night.

Mitzman is second Chabot-Las Positas trustee to pass away within the last year. Long-time Castro Valley Board Trustee Dobie Gelles died in May 2019, and was replaced by Maria Heredia.

In February 2019, Carlo Vecchiarreli, another long-time board trustee, retired due to health reasons. The board later appointed Tim Sbranti to replace him.