Councilman Bob Kellar spoke at the June meeting of the Santa Clarita Republican Women Federated on Tuesday, regarding Senate Bill 54 and its ramifications for the community.
Kellar’s speech came over a month after the City Council meeting on whether the city should formally oppose the law that limited cooperation between California law enforcement and immigration authorities.
On May 8, City Council members listened until 1 a.m. to over 150 speakers giving their opinions on the “Sanctuary State” law. At the end of the night, the Council voted to join other cities that oppose the law—such as Los Alamitos in Orange County—in supporting a lawsuit that the Trump administration has against California.
Kellar explained the background of the issue to those gathered at the Republican Women Federated meeting at The Oaks Club at Valencia. The action the city took, he said, was to file an “amicus brief” that supports the lawsuit, while not partaking directly in it. Filing a brief, ultimately, would not cost the city any money in taking a stance.
Kellar was the first council member to discuss the potential for Santa Clarita to agendize such a discussion in late March, but it was not formally taken up by the Council until a month later.
“Personally, I’d been very bothered by this sanctuary state law for a while,” he said. “ And, when I saw what the city of Los Alamitos had done, I thought it could be used as a catapult for our city to also join.”
Kellar believed it was important to note the “unbelievable community involvement” that spawned hundreds of emails to the Council, and said it “speaks volumes” about residents’ views on the issue.
“People thanked the city for the opportunity to be heard on these issues we believe to be so important,” he said.
Donna Basail, communications director for the Republican Women Federated, said the club has supported Kellar for the years he’s been on the Council and was thankful he came to the meeting to discuss S.B. 54.
“Our City Council has always taken such good care of us,” she said.
