The Area 4 Trustee election is essentially over, while the official count might take weeks. A report from the Long Beach Post puts Herlinda Chico a few hundred votes ahead of Richard Gaylord.
Last Tuesday, Chico announced her victory on Facebook.
“From the first ballot count on Election Day, we established a lead and never relinquished it,” her post read.
During the election, Herlinda Chico would tout her experience in serving the community.
This experience, which in her words gave her, “an understanding of the complexities of the population, which is something that my opponents frankly don’t have.”
On her victory post, she also pledged to, “remain accessible and open to ideas, and I hope I can count on you for your continued community partnership.”
During a follow up interview she said, “We had to adapt to COVID, but we adapted well.”
An example she brought up was, “we had literature made, we dropped it off at doorsteps.”
As for what set her apart as a candidate, Chico said, “It resonates with people that I was a product of the Long Beach Community College system.”
In office, her priorities are the students and faculty.
“We’re still in a pandemic, we should focus on addressing those needs inside and outside the classroom,” she said.
When asked about how the election process has influenced her policies faculty, she said “one thing that was a reminder is Lee Loverridge’s perspective from the faculty. I think that was a valuable perspective, one that we should keep in mind as a trustee.”
Richard Gaylord is a former appointee of the Board of Trustees personnel commission. He too has a long career in a variety of positions within the government and without.
One of these positions was as the Presidents of the National association of realtors. He said “my experience with organizations gives me the tools necessary for our board to move forward.”
When asked for a follow up interview, he declined. Only briefly stated that, “I am waiting for my campaign manager to tell me the vote has been finalized.”
On his website his concession reads “Friends and neighbors, after a week of careful watching, the math is increasingly clear that, sadly, it does not appear I can overcome my opponent’s lead in the race for Long Beach City College Trustee.”
Ending his election efforts with congratulations to Ms. Chico, “I congratulate Ms. Chico on a race well-run and wish her nothing but the very best as a Trustee of the institution I know both of us love and hold dear.”