The Santa Clarita Valley Signal is hosting candidate forums at the Canyon Theatre Guild on Tuesday and Wednesday, giving the public a chance to hear from local candidates as Los Angeles County mails ballots to voters.
“An informed community is a stronger community. The Signal is pleased to present these debates so voters can hear directly from the people asking for their support,” said Signal Owner/Publisher Richard Budman.
The Assembly candidates, Republican challenger Rickey Hayes and incumbent Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth, are scheduled to appear at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
At 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, Santa Clarita Councilman Jason Gibbs, seeking to represent the 27th Congressional District, is the lone candidate who has agreed to appear. Rep. George Whitesides, D-Agua Dulce, has not yet accepted his invitation.
For the local city and school board races, The Signal has invited candidates from the William S. Hart Union High School District and from Santa Clarita City Council districts 2, 4 and 5.
Hart district
Starting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, the forum will cover two races for the district, which serves the entire SCV and about 22,000 junior high and high school students.
District 2, the southernmost in the SCV, includes Placerita Junior High and Hart High School and extends west to Rancho Pico Junior High and West Ranch High School. The seat is open because longtime board member Bob Jensen did not file for re-election. Bryan Biggers and Julee Brooks are running.
Board member Cherise Moore is the only candidate who filed for Hart District 3 and is set to keep her seat. She is not scheduled to take part in the forum.
District 5, which is mostly Saugus, includes Arroyo Seco Junior High and Saugus High. Incumbent Joe Messina faces Stacy Fortner.
City Council
Ten candidates have accepted invitations to the council discussion, which starts at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday.
Three seats are on the ballot: districts 2, 4 and 5.
District 2, the city’s westernmost, runs along Interstate 5 and the city boundary north to the Rye Canyon Road business park, south along the Santa Clara River, then east along Soledad Canyon Road to Golden Valley Road before turning south to Newhall. The open seat has three candidates: Brett Haddoak, Denise Lite and Gloria Mercado-Fortine.
District 4’s western boundary is Copper Hill and Northpark drives in Valencia. It runs east along the city’s northern border to District 5 in Canyon Country, with the Santa Clara River, just north of Soledad Canyon Road, as its southern edge.
There is no incumbent because it’s the district’s first election, but Mayor Laurene Weste is running, along with Jeffrey Berman, Valerie Bradford, Nick Somers and Peter Yahiayan.
District 5 voters live east of districts 1 and 4, along the city’s eastern edge and south into parts of Newhall, but not much north of Via Princessa. Lilia Chernova, Kelvin Driscoll and Bob Khalsa are running.
Info box
Do you know your district?
Residents can check their district boundaries by checking the following sites:
For the Hart district, visit hartdistrict.org/apps/pages/trustee-area-voting-map.
City Council boundaries are available at: santaclarita.gov/residency.
The congressional districts, which changed last year as a result of Proposition 50, are available here: calmatters.org/politics/2022/01/california-election-new-districts-lookup.
