By The Signal Editorial Board
One way or another, there will be a change in the Santa Clarita Valley’s legislative representation after the Nov. 5 election. And, we are advocating for two significant changes, as we endorse Patrick Lee Gipson for the state Assembly and Suzette Martinez Valladares for the state Senate.
No matter what, the SCV will have a new state senator: Sen. Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, who has served the SCV admirably as a public official for the past 18 years, is being termed out of the state Legislature. Wilk’s public service includes six years on the board of trustees for College of the Canyons (2006-12) followed by two terms in the state Assembly before being elected to his state Senate seat in 2016.
We thank Sen. Wilk for representing us well, and this brings us to the first of our endorsements for the 2024 election: Recommending a choice for his replacement, along with our recommendation for the state Assembly seat that represents most of the SCV.
State Senate, 23rd District: Suzette Martinez Valladares
Valladares is an obvious choice. She has the experience gained not only from running a small business and raising her daughter, but also from her previous term serving in the state Assembly, in which she represented the SCV well.
During that Assembly term, Valladares demonstrated admirable skill for consensus building and reaching across the aisle, a trait that she shares with the person currently holding this Senate seat, Scott Wilk.
A consensus-building approach is especially valuable considering Valladares is — and was — a Republican in a state in which the Democratic supermajority, especially its most leftist wing, runs roughshod over common-sense centrist legislation.
During her Assembly term, Valladares was one of the founders of the California Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan coalition of legislators — with a co-chair from each of the two major parties — who espouse the principle that “it’s time to put people over party.”
Amen.
As a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus, Valladares championed common-sense bills that bridged the gaps of party politics to actually get things done.
Valladares’ stances on multiple key issues are consistent with ours, including public safety, energy, gas prices, education, health care, the homelessness crisis and the onerous tax burden imposed on California families.
Suzette Valladares takes a common-sense approach to leadership, and she is adept at finding ways to get things done with colleagues in Sacramento, regardless of party affiliation. The Santa Clarita Valley needs that kind of representation.
So does California.
An aside on the 23rd Senate District: We are writing today to endorse for the candidate we believe will best represent the SCV. We prefer not to turn it into an endorsement against anyone. But, we need to be able to trust our elected representatives. We have concluded that the other candidate for this seat cannot be trusted. If you want to read more about why Valladares’ opponent does not deserve your trust, you can read our Sept. 14 editorial at tinyurl.com/3me2kc3h.
State Assembly, 40th District: Patrick Lee Gipson
Public safety has become an increasingly prominent issue in California as years of policymaking by a one-party legislative majority and the governor’s office have come home to roost.
In fact, voter concern has risen so much — about rising crime, smash-and-grab thefts, lax prosecution policies and laws designed to free as many criminals as possible — that many Democrats who as recently as a few years ago were openly calling to “defund the police” have now reversed course and are attempting to position themselves as champions of public safety.
We see through it.
That’s why we are endorsing someone who has never flip-flopped on public safety and absolutely has never called for the defunding of police: Former L.A. County Sheriff’s Deputy Patrick Lee Gipson, a longtime resident of the district and a father of three.
Santa Clarita is a law-and-order community, long known as one of the nation’s safest, and we need an Assembly representative who shares those values — and with sincerity, not just because it’s politically expedient.
“I am running to bring common-sense solutions to restore California by focusing on public safety and also representing every individual and every small business in our district who have been abandoned and left voiceless by the majority of the California legislators,” Gipson wrote on his website. “I’m running to take on career politicians who continue to limit our liberties and our God-given freedoms. I’m running because thousands of Californians’ lives have been impacted by government overreach.”
We see eye to eye with Gipson on the most important issues facing California, including, of course, public safety, but also parental rights, Sacramento’s economic decisions that are driving people to leave the state, and tackling the fentanyl crisis that is killing so many of our young people.
Patrick Lee Gipson spent his law enforcement career protecting the safety of the citizens he served. It’s time to send him to Sacramento to continue in the Legislature what he started while wearing a badge.
