Hall, Ruiz, Torng elected to Walnut Valley School Board

Incumbents Helen Hall, the 28-year board veteran, and Cindy Ruiz were re-elected to the Walnut Valley Unified School District board Tuesday.
Challenger Tony Torng, 51, a Diamond Bar resident who once ran for City Council in 2003, won his first election by edging out fourth place finisher S. Sean Monemi.
Torng, who is well known in the Chinese-American community in Walnut and Diamond Bar, beat Monemi, the teachers’ union-backed candidate.
With 100 percent of the precincts counted, Torn had 2,227 votes as compared to Monemi’s 2,091.
Hall led all four candidates with 2,550 votes and Ruiz had 2,237 votes.
Incumbent Nancy Lyons, who served for eight years, vacated her seat on the school board and decided to run for the Diamond Bar City Council. Lyons won a seat Tuesday night, beating out City Councilman Ron Everett.
Hall, 65, of Diamond Bar, has been on the school board since 1985. She ran on her 28 years of experience.
Ruiz, 50, a resident of West Covina and a real estate agent, has served on the school board for 12 years.
Torng, 51, was recruited by Lyons to take her spot.
“He is the perfect person to put on the school board,” Lyons said.
Walnut Valley serves about 15,500 students in Walnut and Diamond Bar, including Walnut High School and Diamond Bar High School.