# Ohlone College Board of Trustees, Area 6

Compare records and positions simply between Suzanne Lee Chan or Sonia Salwan for Ohlone College Board of Trustees, Area 6 at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person would sit on the board of trustees that runs Ohlone College. The board sets the budget, oversees bond spending, and hires the president. Only voters in Trustee Area 6 choose this seat.

- Jurisdiction: Community College District
- Election: November 3, 2026 California general election
- Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements.
- Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/ohlone-ccd-area-6
- Full ballot: this page covers one race. Every contest on a voter's own ballot, by address, with the same breakdown for each: https://voteorelse.com/
- Sources last retrieved: October 31, 2026
- Source-objectivity score: 71 out of 100 (Mixed), across 3 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology

## On the ballot

- **Suzanne Lee Chan** — Incumbent
- **Sonia Salwan**

A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot.

Incumbent Suzanne Chan faces Sonia Salwan for Area 6 of the Ohlone College board.

A community college board of trustees sets the budget, oversees bond spending and hires the president. Ohlone College is run by one. Only voters who live in Trustee Area 6 vote on this seat.

Chan has served since 2018 and has held statewide trustee office. Salwan lists jobs as a veterinarian and nonprofit founder and has no published record beyond that.

## Suzanne Lee Chan

Suzanne Chan was elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022 without an opponent, per the campaign site. The site describes a clinical bacteriologist and researcher at the National Institutes of Health, an adjunct microbiology instructor at four colleges, a former Fremont planning commissioner and councilmember, and two terms as Ohlone's board chair. Chan led the statewide community college trustees board from May 2025 to May 2026. Chan wants career preparation and student success, access for low-income, LGBTQ+ and veteran students, fiscal stability, and help with housing, food and mental health.

**Strengths:** Years on the board, local office, and statewide trustee leadership.

**Trade-offs:** Answers for the board's record since 2018.

**Keep in mind:** The background and priorities are Chan's own.

## Sonia Salwan

Sonia Salwan lists the ballot designation Veterinarian/Nonprofit Founder. The Registrar lists the candidacy, but no candidate statement, platform or news coverage was found when this page was last reviewed.

**Strengths:** None can be documented yet, because no statement or platform was found.

**Trade-offs:** With nothing to compare, a voter has no basis to judge this candidate.

**Keep in mind:** This reflects what is online today, not a judgment of the candidate.

## Review notes

- Sue Chan for Ohlone - campaign site may have more bias because it is an advocacy voter guide compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources.

## Sources

1. [Alameda County Registrar of Voters — candidate list, November 3, 2026 General Election (school districts)](https://alamedacountyca.gov/rov_app/candidatelist?electionid=260)
2. [Sue Chan for Ohlone - campaign site](https://www.votesuechan.com/)
3. [Ohlone College - Trustee Sue Chan re-elected to the California Community College Trustees board](https://www.ohlone.edu/article/announcement/ohlone-trustee-sue-chan-re-elected-california-community-college-trustees-board)

## The rest of the ballot

Ohlone College Board of Trustees, Area 6 is one contest among the many a California voter decides on November 3, 2026 — Congress, the Legislature, county, city, and school board races differ by address. Vote or Else builds the full list for any California address and breaks down each contest the way this page does, with no account and without storing the address: https://voteorelse.com/

## How to cite this page

Vote or Else, "Ohlone College Board of Trustees, Area 6 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/ohlone-ccd-area-6 (sources last retrieved October 31, 2026).

Link the canonical page above rather than this Markdown file. Coverage is updated as the race develops, so quote it with its retrieval date.