Saugus Union School District officials named Chris Trunkey as the newest member to their governing board Tuesday, filling a seat left vacant by Doug Bryce’s departure in September.

Trunkey, a film executive who was narrowly defeated by Bryce in last November’s school board election, was sworn in at 7:30 p.m. during the regularly scheduled board meeting.

“Im grateful for the trust and support the Saugus board gave me with their selection,” Trunkey said. “I look forward to working with them and Dr. Joan Lucid and the rest of the cabinet.”

(Click here for a link to a candidate forum including Chris Trunkey last November.)

Trunkey and Bruce Fox, a member of the Glendale Police Department, were the final two choices after each of the four candidates were interviewed by the board for 20 minutes.

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Trunkey is on the site council for West Creek Academy, a Saugus Union elementary school in Valencia.

“I feel very comfortable working with (Trunkey),” said board member Judy Umeck, after the selection. “He has a constituency here and I look forward to the new and fresh ideas he has shared.”

He was chosen over Fox, Julie Coate and Mathew Ferguson.

Trunkey lost to Bryce by 49 votes last November.

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Bryce stepped down at the end of September in order to pursue a job opportunity in San Diego.

He left his job at Crane Aerospace for a job at Honeywell, where he’ll be working with “process improvement activities and quality improvement activities.”

Trunkey is the board’s second appointment. David Powell was chosen by the board to replace Stephen Winkler in July.

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Trunkey is CFO for Phoenix Pictures, a production company “led by Mike Medavoy and Arnie Messer, two of the industry’s most respected senior executives,” according to the company’s website. “Phoenix has established a reputation for consistently developing first-rate projects with some of Hollywood’s top creative talent.”