With the congressional election fast-approaching in November, Rep. George Whitesides, D-Acton, participated in the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce Congressional Forum at College of the Canyons’ University Center on Thursday.
Whitesides is running against Republican challenger Jason Gibbs, a member of the Santa Clarita City Council, in the Nov. 3 election to represent the 27th Congressional District, which includes most of the Santa Clarita Valley.
In the event led by John Musella and Di Thompson, chair of the SCV Chamber board, COC Superintendent-President Jasmine Ruys discussed the relationship between alumni and the market as COC welcomes students back for the first week of the fall semester.
“We want to make sure that our students leave here with the education they need to be good workers out in the community. Students know that learning at COC leads directly to that job, and on average, our students who complete career education courses see an average 21% wage increase,” Ruys said. “What students learn here prepares them to enter the workforce and make a difference on day one. Employers … tell us that they prefer to hire our graduates because COC alumni are equipped with the knowledge, skills and abilities that enable them to move seamlessly from classroom to career.”
Addressing the market and elements that have changed the workforce in recent years, such as artificial intelligence, Whitesides meant business.
“I want to be a voice for business in Congress. We have to maintain policies that support our business owners, whether they’re small or not small, because I think that is the primary way that we’re going to see job growth in this country,” Whitesides said. “I’m concerned about film and production in California specifically … The production jobs are jobs that you can make a living on, pay a mortgage on, and they have historically been a key part of the Southern California economy.”
With a focus on rehabilitating California’s once-booming film industry, Whitesides believes that the “basics” are fundamental in the economy’s foundation.
“I’m also really focused on the basics: One of the basics is making sure that our aerospace businesses remain healthy … We’re really proud of the community project funding items, and they’re typically on the order of $1 to $5 million, helping out local businesses,” Whitesides said. “I’m on the Armed Services Committee, and as part of the last (National Defense Authorization Act), we’ve secured $19 billion in federal funding for next-generation aircraft, which support nearly 10,000 jobs across our district. That supports schools. It supports businesses. It supports communities.”
Expressing concern and disapproval of tariffs for manufacturers and the gas prices as a result of the Iran war, Whitesides also expressed optimism for the nation in the years to come.
“Everywhere I go, I hear that input costs are going up for our manufacturers. The United States is actually spending more for aluminum than any G20 country in the world right now, and it’s because we’re putting tariffs on what we’re importing. The effective tariff rate has gone from 2.4% in 2024 to an average rate of 7.2% to 12.1% … Manufacturing employment is down, not by a lot, but the growth rate we saw from ’22 to ’24 has basically stopped in its tracks,” Whitesides said. “Hopefully we can push back on all this stuff when we’re in next … I remain optimistic in this country.”
