The ladies won it.

In the four contested board races for the North Bend School District and Southwestern Oregon Community College, women candidates beat out their male opponents by at least a 24 percent margin.

In North Bend, incumbent Deb Reid kept her Position 2 seat for a second term on the school board, with 1,746 votes or a little more than 75 percent of the vote. Her opponent, Dr. Dara Parvin, earned 581 or just under 25 percent of the votes.

Reid, who learned of the preliminary results at about 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, said she felt thrilled, relieved and excited. She explained that she viewed Parvin as a serious challenge.

"There's a lot that we want to do as a board next year, and I really wanted to be a part of that so I'm glad I got the chance," Reid said.

She noted that she hopes Parvin will help the district in other ways, such as joining its budget committee.

Also for the North Bend District, newcomer Debbie Smith won Position 1, Zone 1 by a landslide of 1,464 votes, or 72 percent, as compared to fellow newcomer Jeremy Hackney with about 28 percent.

 "I felt secure in why I was running and I just felt I had something more to offer," Smith said. "I'm thrilled to have won, and I'm looking forward to getting to work for the students of North Bend."

For Southwestern, incumbent Marcia Jensen won out against opponent Dick McMahon, with 64 percent of the vote in Coos, Curry and Douglas counties. Jensen said she wasn't sweating the election to regain Position 2 seat, but was pleased with the result, especially after having spent nine years with the college district.

"My motto has been, ÔIf elected will happily serve, if defeated shall celebrate,'" she said.

Her efforts at the college will include developing and setting policies to protect college assets, closely following its financial health and well being, monitoring accreditation and measures of achievement, along with moving forward with building the new Curry campus in Brookings.

Julie Kremers, a former college employee, picked up the most votes - 50 percent or 5,498 - among three candidates running for position 5 on the Southwestern board.

"I'm not sure it's completely sunk in yet," Kremers said shortly after learning the results. "I think it's awesome. I'm looking forward to serving with them."

Opponents Brett Kenney came in second with 26 percent of the vote, followed by John Robert Shilling with 22 percent.

Kremers said she believes her former experiences with the college as both an employee and a student will aid her in her new role. Before taking her current job as a finance assistant for the city of Coos Bay, Kremers worked six years at the college doing human resources and payroll.

"I know some of the inner workings of the college," Kremers said, "so I can understand some of its needs a little bit more."