Districts’ Incumbents Reelected

Two newcomers, including a Latino woman, and three incumbents were elected Tuesday to the governing boards of the Mt. San Antonio, Rio Hondo and Pasadena community college districts.

Thirteen candidates sought the five seats at stake. No incumbents were defeated in the elections. The results will not be official until Thursday after the votes are canvassed by Los Angeles County election officials.

Kenneth L. Hunt, a 53-year-old incumbent on the Mt. San Antonio board, received nearly twice the votes of his nearest competitor in winning a third term. Hunt, dean of instruction at East Los Angeles College and president of the Mt. San Antonio College board, received 11,465 votes, or 38.5% of the total.

Gary V. Miller, 42, a former West Covina city councilman, won the second seat on the Mt. San Antonio board with 5,745 votes or 19.3%. Miller, a former educational supervisor who is taking computer courses for a second career, outpolled Thomas J. Miller, a Covina attorney, by 400 votes. Thomas Miller received 17.9% of the vote.

Thomas Miller, who was favored to win the vacated seat after a college faculty political action group endorsed his candidacy, attributed his loss to voter confusion over the two “Miller” surnames.

“I’m furious about this one,” said Thomas Miller, who lost by 100 votes in an attempt to win a seat four years ago. “With the same last name and the placement of our names one after the other on the ballot, I feel he got my votes.”

“We put out special mailers and tried to emphasize the fact that I was Thomas and an attorney. But even at that it was confusing. I don’t begrudge him for winning, but the name similarity was unfortunate.”

Gary Miller said he did not think the name similarity cost either candidate a significant number of votes. “He made it a point and I made it a point to distinguish ourselves. Our first names were different, the middle initials were different and our occupations were different.”

Gary Miller said his first task as a new board member would be to find ways to cut costs at Mt. San Antonio, which had to dip into its reserves last year to finish in the black. “Generally, I’m quite happy with the direction of the school,” he said.

The other candidates were Arnett L. Austin, who got 3,519 votes, or 11.8%; Kenneth L. Schmitt, 1,986, 6.7%; and Hugh S. Jenings, 1,715, 5.8%.

Hilda Solis, 28, became the first Latino woman to win a seat on the Rio Hondo Community College District Board. Solis, a director of a state-funded educational program serving high schools and community college districts, won 886 votes, or 38%. She defeated Elizabeth Van Note, who served on the board from 1979 to 1983, and Ralph Gutierrez. Van Note received 767 votes, or 32.9%, while Gutierrez received 678 votes, or 29.1%.

“We did it with a lot of hard work and a lot of young folk,” Solis said. “I’m very proud right now. Everybody told me I was going against the grain, being so young.”

Solis said her first priority would be to strengthen counseling and guidance programs at El Monte-area high schools feeding into Rio Hondo so that more students might choose college before entering the work force.

“Fewer and fewer high school students are going to Rio Hondo, while more and more adults are continuing their education there,” Solis said. “My concern is what is happening to that 17- and 18-year-old population. They are either dropping out or their economic situations are forcing them to enter the labor force at minimum wage.

“Latinos make up 60% of district’s population, but only 40% to 45% of the population at Rio Hondo. We’re losing them somewhere.”

In the other seat at stake on the Rio Hondo board, incumbent Isabelle Gonthier won with 1,447 votes, or 60.4 %. She defeated Frank Hidalgo, who received 948 votes, or 39.6%.

Incumbent Joseph E. Sargis won reelection to the Pasadena Area Community College District Board. Sargis, 57, who is the board chairman of Huntington Bank in Arcadia and has been a Pasadena community college board member since 1981, received 1,082 votes, or 75.8% to James Porter’s 345 votes, or 24.2%.

The following communities voted in one or more of the elections: Arcadia, Baldwin Park, Bassett, Charter Oak, Citrus, Covina, Diamond Bar, Duarte, East Whittier, El Monte, Foothill, Glendora, Hacienda Heights, Industry, Irwindale, La Habra Heights, La Puente, La Verne, Los Nietos, Monrovia, Pico Rivera, Pomona, Ramona, Rio Hondo, Roland Heights, San Dimas, San Jose, South El Monte, Spadra, Temple City, Valinda, Walnut, West Covina and Whittier.