Voters within the Contra Costa Community College District service area elected John E. Marquez, John Nejedly and Tim Farley to the Governing Board on Nov 1.

The governing board oversees operating policies and procedures district wide. It is made up of five members who are elected into four-year terms by voters in the district.

The district is separated into five wards, which is overseen by its respective board member.

Contra Costa College is in Ward I, Los Medanos College is in Ward V, Diablo Valley is in Ward III and its San Ramon extension campus is in Ward IV.

Marquez was re-elected over Cheryl Sudduth as the representative of Ward 1, Nejedly ran unopposed for Ward 4 and Farley won the majority vote against Mathew Rinn, who represented Ward 3.

Farley is the newest addition to the board due to Marquez and Nejedly holding the positions of president and vice president, respectively.

Chancellor Helen Benjamin said Farley is currently not a member of the board but will be sworn into office on Dec. 3.

Benjamin said Farley will be replacing is opponent Mathew Rinn at the next governing board meeting. He won 68 percent of the votes and said he will not only represent the interests of DVC but the entire district.

“As a first generation college graduate,” Farley said. “I want to ensure that classes are offered district wide that will provide a pathway for students seeking certificates.”

He said he does not feel intimidated by his new position on the board of trustees due to his good relationships with the current members of the board and experience as part of the Martinez City Council in 1990 and 1994.

Marquez garnered 56 percent of the voter turnout while his opponent, Cheryl Sudduth, was close with 44 percent.

“He was expected to beat me,” Sudduth said. “But I thought that someone who has been in politics for longer than I have been living would have done so by a larger amount.”

She blames her defeat on a low voter turnout caused by peoples’ apathy toward politics. She said people do not understand the importance of voting and become outraged when the results are not what they wanted.

“It’s all a game,” she said. “I lost and it is what it is. That’s politics.”

This will be the second term that Marquez has functioned as the president of the board and as a representative of Ward I. He is a CCC alum and has been politically active since the 80s when he was first appointed to the Richmond City Council.