Hollister
– Though many San Benito County votes remain to be counted, it
seems clear that Elvira Robinson will be re-joining fellow
incumbent Kent Child in returning to the Gavilan College Board of
Trustees this year thanks to voter support in Santa Clara
County.
Hollister – Though many San Benito County votes remain to be counted, it seems clear that Elvira Robinson will be re-joining fellow incumbent Kent Child in returning to the Gavilan College Board of Trustees this year thanks to voter support in Santa Clara County.
“I’m very happy that I was re-elected,” Robinson said. “And I just want to thank my supporters for their votes. I’ll continue to work hard to make Gavilan College a better institution for our youth and seniors.”
The race for the Gav Board of Trustees was one of the more competitive in the county this year, with five candidates vying for two seats: Dee Brown, Reba Jones and Angie De La Cruz as well as Robinson and Child.
Child was clearly awarded another term on the board Nov. 7th, but on election night it was not so obvious as to who would take the second seat.
The Gavilan College district is unusual in that both San Benito and Santa Clara County voters weigh in on who should govern the college, even though candidates were competing for the chance to represent Hollister specifically.
Brown still has a slight lead over Robinson in San Benito County where roughly 3,000 votes must still be counted, but that will almost certainly be outweighed by the nearly 8,000 voters who chose Robinson in Santa Clara, where Brown came in last.
“I’m not holding out any hope that those votes will make up for Santa Clara,” Brown said. “In fact, I called both incumbents (last week) to congratulate them.”
Brown said that campaigning in Santa Clara County was unusually difficult, on top of competing against two incumbents and two other challengers.
“They don’t have any forums for you to really connect with a lot of voters, it’s just very hard to spread yourself out,” she said.
Robinson, who will be beginning her fifth term, also said this race was a challenge and unlike previous years.
“It was very different this time,” she said. “All of these different organizations wanted us to fill out forms for endorsements, and that had never happened before. I’ve never seen so much interest in the community college race, but that’s a good thing.”
Brown, a current Hollister School District Trustee who chose not to run for that office this year, said she plans on staying involved with the community.
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking this week about what I’m going to do, but I’d very much like to stay involved,” she said. “I’ve done a lot of work with the cancer society in the past that I haven’t had time for lately, and I’m considering volunteering as a literacy coach, so I’ll find something.”
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or
ds****@fr***********.com
