Santa Clarita’s historic move to district-based City Council elections will be on November’s ballot for the first time, but the change is probably not going to seem that different for those who live in District No. 3, if they notice at all.
That’s because there’s only one candidate who filed for the seat: Councilman Jason Gibbs, whom city officials said is not an incumbent due to the city’s change in electoral formats.
All previous elections in the city’s history have been at large, meaning anyone anywhere can vote for either their top two or top three candidates depending on how many seats are on the ballot.
Under the new system, only those living in District Nos. 1 or 3 will be eligible to vote Nov. 5.
But it could just be District No. 1 on the ballot, depending on the council’s decision at a special meeting expected to be scheduled next week.
The city is considering a special meeting 5 p.m. Aug. 19 to discuss the situation and whether it needs to bear the six-figure bill for putting Gibbs on an uncontested ballot, according to city officials.
That would be one choice, according to city officials. The other would be to appoint Gibbs to the seat as the only qualifying candidate who filed the required paperwork.
The new electoral map creates five districts: It splits Valencia between district Nos. 2 and 3, with No. 2 on the west side of that; whereas Saugus is somewhat split between district Nos. 3 and 4. District No. 5 is largely Canyon Country, with the exception of a carveout of several neighborhoods that were added to District No. 1 to make it the Latino-majority district with Newhall.
The deadline for all candidates to file was Aug. 9, according to City Clerk Mary Cusick, because there were no eligible incumbents for any of the district seats.
Since Gibbs is currently the only name that’s on the ballot for District 3, the City Council could vote to appoint him to the seat and save the six-figure expense of putting a single name on the ballot.
District No. 1, which is largely Newhall with a portion of western Canyon Country that was added to create a single district with a Latino majority, is a little more wide-open race.
In that race, three candidates completed all their paperwork: city planning commissioners Patsy Ayala and Tim Burkhart, along with Bryce Jepsen, a board member of a local nonprofit.
Mayor Cameron Smyth, the other council incumbent whose current term ends in December, knew he would not be eligible to run for reelection based on the geography of the districts that council members approved.
Knowing this when he took the gavel as mayor for his final year on the council back in December, he called the move a “bittersweet” one as he reflected on his previous one-year rotations as mayor, which included 2003, 2005, 2017 and 2020.
A copy of the city’s new district-based map, which is certified through the 2030 election, is available here: santaclarita.gov/district-elections.
