Wasting no time in getting ready to tackle California’s myriad challenges, Assemblyman-elect Scott Wilk already was leaving Wednesday for Sacramento and about seven days of training, after garnering the 38th Assembly District seat.

 “I’m a longstanding member of this community, I’ve been active and well prepared, Wilk said in  a phone interview while heading to the airport.

“I was always just concerned about taking care of business,” he said. “I was never worried about my opponent or negative tactics.”

The spot was vacated by Cameron Smyth, who was termed out by state law after serving six years.

Wilk tempered his enthusiasm for his new job with disappointment about how his party faired overall in the state’s Assembly race. Early projections had the GOP picking up 32 spots, but the party fell seven short of that.

“Honestly, I was a little depressed this morning, because we didn’t fair as well in the state Assembly,” he said. “But as the day has progressed, I’m getting more excited.”

He also said the results of the ballot measures surprised him somewhat, because he thought Proposition 30, which calls for sales and income tax hikes, would be rejected by voters. It passed with 53.9 percent of the vote.

Wilk was elected to the College of the Canyons governing board in April.

COC’s governing board has not yet set a timeline for replacing Wilk, according to Eric Harnish, director of governmental relations at COC.

He said the board is not allowed to act until the county certifies results, and that is expected to take about four weeks.

Ed. Note: The following is part of a post-election series looking at what our newly elected officials plans are.