Santa Clarita Valley residents and business owners had the opportunity to listen to candidates running for local and state positions discuss business-related issues recently at the SCV Chamber of Commerce’s Election Watch 2024 Candidate Forum.
The event was held at the University Center at College of the Canyons and was moderated by John Musella, former chamber chair.
Julie Leyba, government and community relations manager for the Northeast Valley Health Corp., also gave an introduction at the event.
“We’re not just here to discuss policy positions. We’re here to talk about something even more powerful — the role voting plays in shaping the future of our community and the health of our people,” Leyba said during her introduction.
Each candidate had the chance to give an opening statement before answering a series of business-related questions, followed by their closing statements.
City Council candidates
Tim Burkhart’s platform
Tim Burkhart has been an SCV resident for around 50 years and previously worked as Six Flags vice president of maintenance and construction. He is also currently chairman of the Santa Clarita Planning Commission.
In terms of business priorities, Burkhart said during the forum that he plans to address high business taxes and public safety.
“We became a city so that we would have more of a say in making sure that we don’t have things crop up like business taxes, making sure that we have balanced development between economic development and quality of life, and public safety,” Burkhart said, adding that he supports the potential for public-private partnerships.
In his closing statement, Burkhart said his residency in Santa Clarita and his previous work on a variety of roles and councils is why he would make a great fit for the City Council seat.
“I feel I know this community very well, and I feel I understand how it works,” Burkhart said in his closing statement. “I feel I understand what is important, and what our priorities are. And I think I’ve shown throughout my time in the city and throughout my career that I have the legs to carry [the city] and get it done.”
Patsy Ayala’s platform
Similar to her opponent Burkhart, Patsy Ayala has been a long-time SCV resident for 23 years. Aside from serving as vice chair of the city’s Planning Commission, Ayala served as the chair for the Latino Business Alliance.
Ayala has also previously worked as a field representative for state Sen. Scott Wilk and for then-Assemblywoman Suzette Martinez Valladares.
Ayala said during the forum that she hopes to create more infrastructure for businesses and companies. She also said she was concerned about some of the policies and decisions being made in Sacramento.
“One of the things I would like to do is advocate and getting word of the policies that are affected at the state level, federal level and county level,” said Ayala, in response to what her business priorities are going to be if she gets elected. “I also think we need a convention center. We need a place to do events. We are the third largest city in L.A. County, and we don’t have that. We need to create an environment for business to thrive.”
Ayala said that she also supports public-private partnerships, like Burkhart.
In her closing statement, Ayala said that her background and expertise are reasons residents of Santa Clarita should vote for her for City Council.
“I think I am the person that Santa Clarita needs, not only for my background in government, but for the solutions I’ve been bringing with partnerships,” Ayala said. “I also understand the unique importance of minorities that have been there and need a voice.”
State Assembly candidates
Patrick Lee Gipson’s platform
As a retired Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, Patrick Lee Gipson said his main focus is on public safety and addressing crime. Gipson said he was born and raised in District 40, and even experienced homelessness in Bouquet Canyon because of family members’ drug and alcohol problems.
In regards to California’s climate goals and proposals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Gipson said that it is important to look at whether the programs in place do more harm than good.
“California needs to remain an energy-sufficient state. Otherwise, we go to other states or other countries for oil,” Gipson said during the forum. “We need to look at other things just besides the climate change. We need to know exactly what the nuts and bolts are inside these programs and policies. Otherwise, it’s not going to do us any good.”
Gipson also said that he believes taxes for businesses should be cut and that taxes should be reallocated into programs and resources that work and help businesses.
Gipson also said during the forum that he plans to address high crime rates and the growing drug problem if elected into the California Assembly.
“I’m the only candidate with the necessary experience and skill to understand what crime has done to our businesses and candidates,” Gipson said during his closing statements. “I would be the common-sense answer to everything that is going wrong in California.”
Pilar Schiavo’s platform
Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth, is running for reelection to represent Assembly District 40. Schiavo said that in addition to her governmental position, she is also the daughter of small business owners.
Schiavo said during the forum that she has consistently put in the effort to bring in money to the community, and that while working as assemblywoman, she’s addressed homelessness and health care.
“We know that people are struggling right now and that’s why we have been really focusing on these things,” Schiavo said during her opening statement. “We’ve focused our legislation on things that people care about in our community and really focus on things that will remove red tape in Sacramento, streamline the process and make sure we get business thriving in our community.”
When asked about California’s climate goals and proposals aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Schiavo said that it was important to have programs that help businesses transition to more sustainable practices and to help lower utility costs.
Schiavo also said that increased costs from oil and utilities is something she’s been trying to combat during her time in the Assembly.
“I have, from the very beginning when I first got elected, stood up to price gouging that has been happening in our communities by oil and utilities on a consistent basis to make sure that we are scrutinizing the costs that are being passed on to people,” Schiavo said.
Schiavo added that she supported keeping the net operating loss tax deduction for small businesses, and that California needs to continue to support its strong workforce.
State Senate candidates
Suzette Martinez Valladares’ platform
Former assemblywoman Suzette Valladares is running for California State Senate District 23 this year. In addition to previously serving in government, Valladares is also a small business owner and has previously worked as the executive director for Autism Speaks.
Valladares said she is the only candidate to have supported Proposition 13, which puts a cap on property taxes.
When asked about the state’s climate goals, Valladares said that while she supports clean energy, the goals are unrealistic.
“The reality of our climate goals are not realistic, especially for business owners in the state of California,” Valladares said. “It’s extremely costly. I am for an all-hands-on-deck approach to addressing our energy needs. What I’d like to see is greater investments in hydrogen and hydrogen technology.”
Valladares also said that California needs to support nuclear energy and produce more oil to make costs go down.
When asked about lowering costs to do business in California, Valladares said that the state needs to offer more support for the entertainment business.
“We need to keep Hollywood production and entertainment in California,” Valladares said during the forum. “We cannot let any other state be the entertainment capital of the world. That’s California. And you cannot address growing business and making it less expensive to do business in California without addressing our housing crisis.”
Kipp Mueller’s platform
Kipp Mueller, a workers’ rights attorney, is running against Valladares this year for California State Senate District 23. Mueller said during his opening statement that he grew up in a small-business household: His father painted houses, which Mueller said he would help with.
Mueller said that because of his upbringing, he understood how small businesses affected the local communities.
“I grew up in that environment, knowing it’s tough to get by with a small business and also how important our businesses are to our local economy and our community,” Mueller said during his opening statement. “It’s tough to do business in California. We need to remove red tape and streamline processes.”
Mueller said that in terms of climate goals, the state needs to incentivize businesses to make the switch to more sustainable practices.
“I want to make sure that what we’re doing is providing proper incentives and making it easy for our businesses to transition,” Mueller said. “Clean energy economy is the future, and this state can get ahead of the world. But the key thing is to make it possible for businesses to be able to afford this transition.”
Like his opponent Valladares, Mueller said that he would also like to protect Proposition 13 for small businesses to feel supported.
“Taxes are too high and they’re tough on our working families and our small businesses,” Mueller said. “We need to be smart as a state about where taxes are applied and make sure we’re helping our small businesses grow.”
After the forum, attendees were able to meet and speak with the candidates at the reception, where they were provided with refreshments and snacks.
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