San Joaquin Delta College President Raul Rodriguez has withdrawn as a candidate for the chancellor position at Riverside Community College District, even though he says he was offered the job.

Rodriguez announced Thursday, May 15 in an e-mail to Delta faculty and staff that he had withdrawn his application for the post, saying, "it is in my best interests and the best interests of my family" to stay in his current job.

In the e-mail, he said “there have been some recent developments that have caused me to reconsider my candidacy and that led me to this decision (to withdraw).”

Contacted by phone later that day, Rodriguez said he had been offered the chancellor position but the job just didn't seem like the right fit for him and his career.

While Rodriguez still plans on moving to a chancellor’s position, he said the Riverside post didn't seem like the right one.

He said there were a few factors about the job "that just didn't add up," but declined to be more specific.

Rodriguez said it was odd that after he was offered the job, the college continued to have him and another job finalist participate in public forums and field questions from the Riverside College community.

Rodriguez was one of two people that Riverside announced as finalists for the job. He had received endorsements from the Riverside Academic Senate and the school's teacher union.

The Riverside board of trustees was expected to announce its hire for the position next week.

An e-mail from the Riverside board of trustees this week said both candidates had withdrawn after the board was unable to reach a unanimous decision on their pick.

Rodriguez said he was eager to continue work at Delta.

"There's just a lot of exciting stuff happening at Delta,” he said “Sometimes the grass looks greener but then it actually isn't … I'm just delighted to be staying at Delta.”