Incumbents retain college board seats, school district races undecided in the High Desert
Many incumbents have been declared winners in the battle for school and college board seats in the High Desert, while some find themselves in unfamiliar territory.
Victor Valley College Board Trustees
Victor Valley College Board Trustees Brandon Wood and Joseph W. Brady have retained their seats by taking over 65% of the vote in their respective areas.
Early Wednesday returns show Area 4 incumbent Trustee Wood with 78.6% or 5,502 votes over Lynne Litchfield, who earned 21.4% or 1,502 votes.
In Area 2, Trustee Brady picked up 67.8% or 4,193 votes over City of Victorville Councilwoman Blanca Gomez, who grabbed 32.2% or 1,992 votes.
Wood is a Navy Veteran and has served on the VVC District Board of Trustees since 2013. He owns and operates The Law Offices of Brandon A. Wood, in the High Desert.
Brady is president of The Bradco Companies, the longest-serving commercial, industrial and land brokerage firm serving the High Desert region, according to its website.
He was first appointed to the board in 2011. Although his at-large term wasn’t up until 2020, he opted to run for Area 2 in 2018.
Election results: See election results for city councils, school boards, local measures
San Bernardino County Board of Education
In the race for the County of San Bernardino Board of Education Area, A seat, businessman and former Victorville Councilman Ryan McEachron held a nearly 1,500 lead over incumbent board member Ken Larson.
McEachron had captured 43.1% or 15,255 votes, while Larson took 38.8% or 13,710 votes, and Sendi Fregoso earned 18.1% or 6,397 votes.
Apple Valley Unified School District
In the governing board Area 1 race, a short-term seat, newcomer Gary Arce held the lead over appointed incumbent Chris Nunez.
Arce had gained 58.2% or 1,430 votes, while Nunez gained 41.8% or 1,028 votes.
For the Area 2 seat, Amanda Buchanan grabbed 46.4% of the vote or 807 votes, while incumbent and longtime board member Wilson F. So earned 31.6% or 549 votes. Following So is candidate Joe Russell with 22.1% or 384 votes.
So has been a board member of the AVUSD since 1993.
Barstow Unified
Aaron Heldreth led Ben Rosenberg by a vote split of 399-178 ballots (69%-31%) in the slate of results released as of Wednesday morning in the race for Barstow Unified School District Governing Board Area 4.
Rosenberg, a 12-year trustee and the school board’s current president, pitched proven experience improving BUSD through projects such as establishing a STEM academy and Barstow Fine Arts Academy.
Heldreth, a second-time candidate who lost a 2020 bid against then-board president and now-City Councilwoman Barbara Rose, pitched a plan to expand BUSD with offerings such as a revamped bilingual program and a Future Farmers of America program.
Michael Shane Watson led Latrina L. Wallace by a vote split of 412-249 (62%-38%) in results released as of Wednesday morning in the race for Barstow Unified School District Governing Board Area 5.
Watson, an incumbent appointed in January 2021 to replace Rose, sought his first true BUSD election victory on an endorsement from the Barstow teachers’ union and a platform of listening to parents.
Wallace, a first-time candidate, ran on a pitch for change in K-12 schooling in Barstow based on equity for disadvantaged students and expanded school staffing.
Hesperia Unified School District
In the HUSD, candidates battled for single seats in governing board areas 2, 3 and 5.
In the Area 2 race, Christian Steen had 42.3% or 712 votes, Tim McLaughlin had 29.9% or 503 votes, Angelique Jolly had 15.7% or 264 votes, and Jesse Cain grabbed 12.2% or 205 votes.
In Area 3, Incumbent Eric Swanson captured 45.7% or 552 votes, while Crisseda Gargallo took 38.8% or 468 votes. Colin Opseth and Raymond Ortega Jr. each had nearly 95 votes.
The Area 5 race included incumbent Mark Dundon with 43.7 votes or 868 votes and followed by James Blocker with 38.8% or 771 votes, and Anna Ghan with 17.4 votes or 346 votes.
Snowline Joint Unified School District
In the governing board Area 1 race, Incumbent Christina Behringer had 56.5% or 637 votes, followed by John Kozyra, who had 43.5% or 490 votes.
Victor Valley Union High School District
In governing board Area 2, Kent Crosby captured 55.7% or 1,340 votes, while incumbent Caleb Castaneda followed with 44.3% or 1,064 votes.
The governing board Area 4 race has Incumbent Joshua Garcia with 50.4% or 1,366 votes and followed closely by Rosalio “Rosie” Hinojos with 49.6% or 49.6%
Adelanto Elementary School District
In governing board Area 4, Christina Bentz had 38.7% or 238 votes, followed closely by Resa Barillas with 38.4% or 236 votes. Diana Esmeralda, who had 22.9% or 141 votes, also came up short this month in her run for Adelanto Mayor.
Helendale School District
In the race for three governing board seats, Incumbent Frank Melendez earned 29.0% or 659 votes, followed by Amy Thomas with 24.7% or 562 votes, Cindy Hensley with 24.5% or 556 votes.
Michelle Tacoronte with 21.9% or 497 votes.
Oro Grande School District
In the race for two governing board seats, Robert Garcia Jr. grabbed 39.1% or 36 votes, Incumbent Paula Ramirez took 33.7% or 31 votes, and Gilberto Rivera Jr. had 27.2% or 25 votes.
It could take several weeks for some of the closer races to be decided because of mail-in and provisional ballots still need to be counted.
Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz.
Charlie McGee covers California’s High Desert for the Daily Press, focusing on the city of Barstow and its surrounding communities. He is also a Report for America corps member with The GroundTruth Project, an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization dedicated to supporting the next generation of journalists in the U.S. and worldwide. McGee may be reached at 760-955-5341 or cmcgee@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @bycharliemcgee.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Incumbents win college board seats in California's High Desert
