With a decisive election victory earlier this month, Tim Farley is set to become the newest member of the Contra Costa Community College District Governing Board.

A Diablo Valley College graduate himself, Farley will represent the Pleasant Hill, Concord and Martinez based Ward III on the governing board. He will be sworn in by his former DVC English professor Bill Harland on Dec. 10.

“(DVC) professors like Bill Harland and others encouraged me to go to school. And I was really, really pleased that they saw the talent and promise in me, and that’s what I want to do,” he said.

Since 2007 Farley has been the Director of Community and Government Relations at St. Mary’s College. While there, he helped organize the 2010 United States senate debate at St. Mary’s.

Farley, who has a degree in political science from University of California Davis, also has a history in politics. He has served as a delegate at several National Democratic Conventions and was a member of the Electoral College during the 1996 presidential election.

Farley also served two terms on the Martinez City Council. By the end of his second term in 1998, Farley had two sons and decided against running for a third-term.

“Now that my sons are grown, my wife and I are empty nesters” he said. “So when (CCCC Board trustee) Grilli died last year people encouraged me to apply for appointment.”

And while his application was not successful, according to the San Jose Mercury News, Farley’s recent campaign clearly won 67 percent of the vote.

Erin Hallissy, a former Farley colleague at St. Mary’s, is confident voters selected the right person for the job. “He cares deeply about how (students are) doing, the support systems that they have as they pursue higher education and the ways that they can become more well-rounded scholars and citizens,” she said.

“I want to make sure everybody knows the opportunities that are available to them,” Farley said when asked what he hopes to accomplish. “Whether (students) want to go to a four-year school, (or complete a) certificate program, I want to make sure that the student success occurs.”