Though I don’t live in Santa Clarita’s District 2, I have professional ties to the community that give me a close view of the leadership the city needs.
Gloria Mercado-Fortine spent 37 years in education, including years as a principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent in large urban school districts. Anyone who has managed a school system that size knows what it takes to run a budget under real pressure: competing demands, tight reserves and the discipline to keep operations accountable while still delivering for the people you serve. That is the same skill set a city needs at the council level, and it is not something you can fake or learn on the job.
She backed up that experience locally, too. As a longtime William S. Hart Union High School District board member, she helped pass two bonds that built six new schools. As past president of the SCV Sheriff’s Foundation, she put in the work to strengthen public safety partnerships long before it was a campaign talking point.
District 2 needs a council member who treats fiscal stewardship, schools and public safety as connected problems, not separate boxes to check. Gloria’s record shows she already thinks that way.
I don’t get a ballot in this race, but I know how much a community’s leadership matters to the people and organizations connected to it. Gloria Mercado-Fortine has earned my support.
Raul Barragan
Sylmar
