With nearly 50% of votes counted, Herlinda Chico is leading the race for LBCC Board of Trustee by a margin of about 800 votes.
This leaves some room for Dick Gaylord to catch up as votes continue to be counted, although the gap between them has widened since the most recent reporting.
Lee Loveridge trails both candidates by a wide margin.
Neither of the top two candidates have conceded defeat or acknowledged victory.
“I want to thank everyone who has helped get us to this very promising place. I continue to be grateful and humble and I cherish everyone’s encouraging words,” Chico said in a Facebook post.
Dick Gaylord is awaiting further results from the county before he would like to make a statement.
Lee Loveridge said he has reached out to Chico to congratulate her if she becomes the winner, noting that he would be available if she ever wanted to consult with.
Loveridge said he offers the same regards to Gaylord, should he win.
On the experience of running for office, Loveridge said that he is “grateful for the support he received.”
The tight race is no surprise as both Chico and Gaylord have many years working in public service.
Chico works as a field deputy for County Supervisor Janice Hahn’s office. She has run for public office before. Herlinda attempted an unsuccessful run for the Long Beach City Council to fill a seat vacated by former council member Patrick O’Donnell when he won a race for the state assembly. She also worked as a staff member for O’Donnell’s office at that time.
In addition to her working directly with elected officials as staff, she has also served in leadership positions for local political organizations, such as the Democratic Women’s Club of Long Beach and Long Beach Democratic Club. She has many connections in the city and has received quite a few endorsements from local officials, including city council members, education administrators and faculty.
Gaylord also has many years of experience in building connections in public service. Dick currently works as a realtor. He is a former teacher with experience in administration in education. He serves as the president of his neighborhood association and says he considers himself to be someone who is very active in his community. He also holds significant endorsements including having the support of the Long Beach Council of Classified Employees, the union which represents adjunct professors.
Gaylord has served on the city’s personnel commission as well the economic commission.Gaylord also holds strong political connections. Like Chico, he has the support of members of the city council, previous public office holders and education workers.
All three candidates mentioned the importance of the LBCC Faculty Association in a previous interview with the Viking. For this race, the faculty union gave a shared endorsement to both Chico and Gaylord.
This story will be updated as results come in from the county.