Voters in the Rowland Unified School District tossed out two of three incumbents Tuesday night in what’s being called a changing of the guard at the district, according to Trib reporter Steve Scauzillo.
Twelve-year board member Gilbert Garcia came in a distant fifth out of seven candidates, and Robert Hidalgo did not seek re-election to the board.
Instead, Angelena Pride and Lynne Ebenkamp, two new faces, were elected to the school board Tuesday night. With 100 percent of the votes counted, Pride was the top vote-getter with 2,050 votes and Ebenkamp was next with 1,888. The third seat was captured by incumbent Cary Chen, who edged out challenger Anne Ma by 83 votes.
Early returns seemed to suggest the voters were looking for a change.
Incumbent Gilbert Garcia, running for a fourth term, never challenged the three top vote-getters. From absentee ballot tallies to precinct votes, Pride and Ebenkamp led throughout the night.
“A lot of people said they wanted to have at least two new board members,” said One Chu, a founder of the Rowland Parents and Educators Association.
Meanwhile, Hidalgo, assistant principal at Wilson High School in Hacienda Heights, was winning his seat on the Mt. San Antonio College school board with nearly two-thirds of the precincts counted.
Pride and Ebenkamp seemed to have benefitted from an endorsement and people power from the Association of Rowland Educators. “Our two candidates articulated the best vision for the district. And the voters saw the same thing we did,” said John Petersen, ARE president.
Phillip Estrada, 45, a former deputy sheriff; and Wild Chang, 45, a parent and attorney, were in sixth and seventh place, respectively.