Four challengers for the Board of Trustees—running on a platform of greater transparency, community involvement and shared governance—met last night to see if Santa Barbara would let them lead City College.

At Channels press deadline at 10 a.m. Wednesday three of the four challengers appeared headed toward victory.

“It has always been an unspoken rule that long-time faculty should not be doing this,” said a victorious Dr. Peter Haslund, professor emeritus who taught political science at the college for 40 years. “But I’m up for the challenge.”

Bouquets of red, white, and blue balloons were strung throughout State & A Bar and Grill as more than 100 supporters, buzzing with enthusiasm for the challengers, waited for election results.

Some hissed in dissapproval when incumbents’ names scrolled on the restaurant television screens. The crowd sipped drinks and nibbled appetizers as it waited for county election results. Applause and hoots ripped through the crowd as the first results were broadcast.

Meanwhile, at what former trustee Dr. Joe Dobbs described over the phone before the election as a “secret, undisclosed location,” he and fellow incumbents watched from points unknown.

“These are hard times and they will continue to get harder,” said 16-year trustee Desmond O’Neill, the lone winning incumbent, in a phone call late Tuesday night. “The board will continue struggling from budget to budget.”

From the beginning of the evening, Haslund had a clear lead over incumbent Sally Green and former mayor Marty Blum started the race strong.

The race between incumbents O’Neill and Dobbs and challenger Marsha Croninger, who all shared the ballot with Blum for Trustee Area No. 3, began and stayed tight.

The Santa Barbara Community College district consists of four different sections. Areas Nos. 2 and 3 cover the city of Santa Barbara, Area No. 1 Carpinteria, and Area No. 4 Goleta.