Based on unofficial results from Austin Community College officials, Chairwoman Barbara Mink and 12-term board member Allen Kaplan have been re-elected to their seats on the ACC board of trustees.
"People see that the communtiy college is really an important component of Central Texas," Mink said. "I really actively campaigned and met people in all sectors of our taxing districts."
Mink's challenger, Brig Mireles, said he wished Mink continued success and is dissapointed in the results.
"This is truly disapointing," Mireles said. "I thought I would do much better."
Allen Kaplan, winner of the Place 9 seat, said he felt good about the race and will focus on the Highland Mall project and student success in his upcoming term.
"I think we are going to have another good board [of trustees] and move along with our priorities," Kaplan said.
Kaplan's opponent, Daniel Caldwell, said that although the numbers were not in his favor, they were still encouraging, and he plans to continue to contribute to student life at ACC.
"I was thinking that it might be a long shot going against an incumbent, however I figured that shows that I did better than some people would have expected me to in that circumstance," Caldwell said.
Betty Hwang will take the Place 8 seat in the upcoming term. She was unopposed in the race.
"I'm very proud and grateful to the voters," she said. "The support is overwhelming."
Hwang said she has many goals for her term, including improving graduation rates by creating more scholarship and internship opportunities for students. Updating curriculum and technology needs and increasing multicultural education are also on her list of goals.
Unofficial combined voting totals from Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Lee, Travis and Williamson counties:
Place 7—Mink: 178,961 votes, Mireles: 62,885 votes
Place 8—Hwang: 206,545 votes
Place 9—Kaplan: 116,458 votes, Caldwell: 112,873 votes
Place 7 candidates
Mink has served on the ACC board for 12 years, four as the board's chair. She has 40 years' experience in the community college field.
Mireles served two terms on the Round Rock ISD board of trustees and worked as a teacher and administrator at Leander High School. Mireles has also served on the board of directors for several groups, including the United Way of Greater Williamson County.
Place 8
Hwang served as the chairwoman and CEO of software consulting firm West Lake Computer Systems (doing business as Victina Systems International). Hwang was also a professor at Purdue University and serves on the board of the Austin chapter of the Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce.
Place 9 candidates
Caldwell has worked in Pflugerville, Georgetown and Austin ISD classrooms. He enlisted in the Army and the Texas State Guard. He is also a former ACC student.
Kaplan is the state coordinator for the Association of Community College trustees. He has served on the Austin Community College board for three terms.
All results are unofficial until canvassed. For a complete interviews with the candidates, visit our website.