The future is bright for Gavilan College with the passing of a $248 million bond measure Nov. 6 as well as the election of three new members to its governing body.
A combined 57 percent of voters in Santa Clara and San Benito counties (who reside within the boundaries of the Gavilan Community College Joint District) were in favor of Measure X, which needed to reach the 55 percent threshold to pass, according to the posted unofficial results of the Nov. 6 election..
Santa Clara County voters did the heavy lifting with nearly a 60 percent approval rate. In San Benito County, voters were nearly split down the middle with a little more than 51 percent in favor of Measure X—which is earmarked for upgrades to Gavilan’s main Gilroy campus as well as the building of a new San Benito satellite campus and expansion to the Coyote Valley site.
Helping to make those important decisions for Gavilan will be three new trustees to the seven-member board as 64-year-old retired school administrator Edwin Diaz handily defeated incumbent Walter Glines in Trustee Area 3. Diaz received slightly more than 64 percent of the votes, while Glines came in at nearly 36 percent, according to Santa Clara/San Benito County Registrar of Voters.
Also new to the Gavilan board are Jeanie Wallace and Irma Gonzalez, who both came away as winners in their respective San Benito County trustee areas on election night.
In Trustee Area 5, Wallace, a 60-year-old high school teacher at Ann Sobrato High School in Morgan Hill, ran away with more than 60 percent of votes compared to 39 percent by opponent Richard Perez, a 49-year-old small business owner.
In Trustee Area 7, 60-year-old website designer Irma Gonzalez received a late-night surge to defeat 56-year-old project manager Mike Alcorn in what was a very close race. Gonzalez ended up with 42 percent of the vote, while Alcorn finished with nearly 41 percent. The two were separated by less than 60 votes. Another challenger, 37-year-old Jason Hopkins, who pulled out of the race but too late to have his name removed from the ballot, got 17 percent of votes.
Diaz, Wallace and Gonzalez will join attorney Laura Perry (TA1), who ran unopposed and was not on the ballot, President Jonathan Brusco (TA2), Vice President Mark Dover (TA4) and Rachel Perez (TA6) on the Gavilan dais.
