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2 Incumbents, San Fernando Councilman Win Community College Seats

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Two incumbents were reelected to the Los Angeles Community College board of trustees, with a San Fernando city councilman claiming the third, according to unofficial results.

Incumbent Mona Field, a retired college professor, reclaimed Seat 1 over four challengers. Miguel Santiago, a political consultant, defeated business owner Erick Aguirre to keep Seat 7.

San Fernando City Councilman Steven Veres won 58 percent of the vote to win Seat 3, defeating Joyce Garcia, a university professor, avoiding a May 17 runoff.

A runoff election will be needed in the race for Seat 5. Scott Svonkin, a San Gabriel Unified School District board member and adviser to Sheriff Lee Baca, won just 35.3 percent of the vote, the highest percentage among seven candidates. Teacher Lydia Gutierrez finished second in the race with 14.37.

A series of Los Angeles Times articles had raised concerns about the board about mismanagement and waste in the handling of a nearly $6 billion bond construction program. The Times investigation concluded millions had been wasted because of lax oversight and questionable spending.

(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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