Dominique Lujan wins seat on SBCC board; Andrea Varon also out in front

Two political newcomers—boosted by high-profile endorsements—were leading late Tuesday in the race for the Santa Barbara Community College Board of Trustees.

Dominique Luján, 40, a full-time student and who moved to Santa Barbara in 2020, had earned 75.2 percent of the vote.

Starting in January, he will represent Trustee Area 5 and the residents of the upper East Side, Mission Canyon, the Riviera, San Roque and the San Marco foothills.

“It’s my first race, and I wanted to win because I love the school,” said Luján, who celebrated  along with jubilant Democrats at Validation Ale, 102 East Yanonali St. in the Funk Zone. “I’m ready to get started on doing what I can to make the school a better place for everybody.

“I think my priority will be to bridge the gap between the board, staff, faculty and students. And I’d like to see [the employee] contract resolved as soon as possible.”

Andrea Varon, 70, a retired elementary school teacher and administrator, had garnered 48.7 percent of the vote. 

Varon moved to Santa Barbara in 2021 and will now represent Trustee Area 7, comprising the Mesa, Hope Ranch, Bel Air and Hidden Valley.

“I just can’t believe that so many people I don’t know voted for me,” said a laughing Varon, surrounded by well-wishers at the Democratic watch party. “I mean I’m a stranger in town. I’ve only been in Santa Barbara for five years.”

Varon said she is eager “to start working on a sustainable budget, and thinking about programs that can help increase enrollment so that we can make more money.”

In a low-profile, non-partisan race attracting five relatively unknown candidates—none of whom spent more than $5,000—key endorsements appeared to carry weight. 

Both newly elected candidates collected endorsements from the Santa Barbara County Democratic Party, the SBCC chapter of the California School Employees Association and  The Channels, the SBCC student newspaper. 

The Faculty Association, representing the college’s 630 full time and part-time instructors and counselors, did not endorse in either race.

Luján and Varon celebrated their victory at a packed watch party attended by virtually every Democratic official in the county. Many of them, including SBCC Board President Jonathan Abboud, crowded around Luján and Varon and congratulated them for contributing to a historic night for Democrats.

Luján was leading registered Independent E. Howard Green, 88. A retired manager with IBM and longtime volunteer with the county, Red Cross and United Way.

“I think [Lujan] benefitted”  from the wave of Democratic victories across the county, as well as from his endorsements, said Green, speaking by phone from his home.  “I think he will be an interesting person on the board, but he is only one of seven.”

Varon was besting fellow Democrat Oscar Zavala, 71, a retired SBCC counselor and past president of the Mesa Neighborhood Association, and Republican-endorsed Heather McGinnis, a nurse and former financial analyst. Switch these two sentences if McGinnis comes in second.

Zavala received 29.6 percent of the vote. McGinnis came in third with 21.4 percent of the vote.

“I think the people who supported me support the college,” he said. “And I’ll continue to support the college, as I’ve always done.” 

He added that he’d like to bring Superintendent-President Dr. Erika Endrijonas into the Mesa Neighborhood Association to strengthen the connection between the college and its neighboring areas.

 Zavala was endorsed by the Democratic Women of Santa Barbara, whose members joined the county Democrats at Funk Zone celebration. Drop this paragraph if McGinnis is second.

The seven-member board represents constituents stretching from Carpinteria to Goleta, and governs and sets policies for the three-campus district. In Fall 2025, the district served 13,580 credit students online and at the Cliff Drive Campus.  Another 4,923 students take non-credit classes at the Wake and Schott extended education centers.

Board members are also responsible for hiring and evaluating the superintendent-president. The current board drew criticism from employees this summer and fall after granting Superintendent-President Dr. Erika Endrijonas a 12.5% raise over four years. 

Employees, meanwhile, have not received a raise since 2023. Negotiations on a new employee contract are ongoing.

Both winning candidates said they were committed to seeing faculty and staff salaries raised to levels commensurate with Santa Barbara’s high cost of living.

In pre-election interviews, Luján called Endrijonas’s raise “very bad optics.” Varon said she would withhold judgment on the CEO’s salary bump but was confident the board could work together to fairly compensate the district’s nearly 950 employees.

Varon listed her 43 years in education and familiarity with the accreditation process as primary qualifications. She will replace her sister, Ellen Stoddard, who is retiring from the board after one term. 

Luján will replace four-term trustee Marsha Croninger on the board.

Luján credited his role as a full-time student with providing some “much-needed” empathy for the challenges facing students and faculty. He said he also wants the college to more aggressively pursue building student-employee housing on its open spaces. 

Both candidates advocated for the expansion of workforce training for new and re-entry students. They also want to guarantee an inclusive, welcoming environment for students as solutions to the college’s shrinking enrollment and unstable funding.