Kyle Richards is anticipated to win the Board of Trustees seat for Area 2 against Lisa Sloan with a vote of 64.08% , according to unofficial results from the County of Santa Barbara elections division as of early Wednesday morning.
Richards, who is running under the Democratic party, leads the race against Sloan as of midnight Nov. 6, with Richards leading by 2,210 votes.
“I feel like my message resonated with the voters that we need to keep the course of City College on track,” Richards said.
Richards has 27 years of experience working in various positions at UCSB. He started out working in a resident hall and then progressed to the director of LGBTQ Resource Center.
“I’ve had experience working with faculty and students, so I’ll be able to listen to and incorporate the concerns with all of the aspects of City College,” Richards said.
Richards, who had a comfortable lead, walked around SOhO Restaurant and Music Club, conversing alongside partygoers throughout the night.
Sloan is running under the Republican party, with 37 years of experience as a Senior Environmental Health Specialist.
She labeled her campaign as a “shoe leather” campaign and rallied 22 volunteers to help knock on doors, reaching over 5000 people this way.
After voting was closed, Sloan spent her time at the Santa Barbara VA Clinic watching votes being counted. When the numbers began to roll in, Sloan lost confidence in her standing in the race.
“I probably am just going to wish Kyle Richards, Councilman Richards, the best at this job, the trustee position,” Sloan said.
Though Sloan is projected to lose the District 2 election, she is proud of what she has learned throughout the election, and the opportunity to run in the first place.
“I feel really great because I see that it’s 60% Democrat in my district, and I actually am a Republican,” Sloan said. “So it’s amazing that I got as far as I did.”
