Craig Nielsen won against Brian Fay in the race for the area four Board of Trustees position by a margin of 3.99 percent and 268 votes, according to the Santa Barbara County general election ballot.

“I didn’t really expect to win, I guess I’m going to have to start working,” Nielsen said. “I ran for broader motives than just to win. I’m going to start studying.”

Nielsen, 64-year-old retiree and City College alumni, hopes to reinstate City College’s mission statement, as well as focus on core-credit classes. He became interested in running when he read about the board’s troublesome past year.

“The accreditation warning status is our number one issue,” said Nielsen.

Nielsen did not endorse Proposition 30, but hopes it will pass on behalf of the students. However, he also said that many people he’s spoken with were upset by the tax increase.

“I put the students first, I don’t want to cut classes,” Nielsen said. “Cut to me means cut, that means it hurts. What if we cut a little staff and add classes at the same time? I know it sounds impossible, but something has to be done.”

His opponent was Brian Fay, 34-year-old Philadelphia native, who sought to protect continuing education and stands in full support of Proposition 30.

“When I came into this I never really had any political aspirations. The main reason that was driving me was my passion for education and being a part of the institution that made myself the person that I am today,” Fay said. “City College changed my life and I still feel that way. I thought it was a good opportunity to give back to the institution.”

Graphic by: Morten Opedal