Candidate wants to preserve Simi's older neighborhoods, bring a school to Big Sky

Mike Judge On Nov. 4, when Mike Judge casts his vote for City Council, he won't have to write in his name like he's done in past years.

This time, he will actually be on the ballot.

In recent elections, said the 45-year-old who's lived in Simi most of his life, he has been "irritated" seeing incumbents run unopposed. That's why this year he decided to officially become another choice for voters.

"From what I've heard, from the people I talk to, there's not a whole lot of people that are happy with the City Council right now," he said. "So they're going to look at that ballot and say, 'OK, I don't have to vote for the incumbent.' They're going to have a choice this time."

A police officer with the LAPD for 18 years, Judge said the reason he decided to run is similar to the reason he decided to go into law enforcement.

"I went into my first oral interview with the Los Angeles Police Department and they said, 'Why do you want to be a police officer?' And I said, 'Because I think I can help.'"

Judge, who has three children with his wife, Sarit, told the Acorn that he would like to see Simi remain fairly conservative while maintaining a small-town feel.

A hometown boy and 1981 graduate of Simi High, Judge said he has seen the city change and grow over the years, and while he is not against the progress the city has made, he is in favor of common-sense growth.

"I would like to have things thought through a little more," he said, citing the Target development on the corner of Madera and Tierra Rejada roads. "We love the store, but really, three large Target stores within a 10mile radius? Why?"

And rejecting the idea of putting high-density housing on Leeds Street was to him a nobrainer.

"A lot of people move to Simi Valley because you can't reach out your window and shake your neighbor's hand," he said.

Other than that, Judge doesn't have a problem with the city's General Plan Update, he said, adding that he is a fan of building more senior housing and revitalizing the Mountain Gate Plaza.

He would also like to see more affordable, owneroccupied housing developments so that his children—Michele, 13, Alexandra, 10, and Nicolas, 7— can afford to live in the city they are growing up in.

Similarly, Judge would like the city to actively work to maintain Simi's older neighborhoods—perhaps by using surplus funds from new developments like Big Sky—so that there are no stigmatized areas.

"I don't want there to be any bad parts of Simi," he explained. Also on his agenda is building a shooting range that is open to officers and residents, obtaining fields for Simi Youth Soccer and encouraging the construction of an elementary and a middle school for the Big Sky development.

As a cop, Judge said Simi Police does "an outstanding job with what they have" but that the department could use more officers to reduce overtime, a fulltime undercover vice unit and increased enforcement at bars as a preventive measure to drunk driving.

Judge said his nearly 20 years of public service with the police department has taught him to be a problem solver and that he can put this experience to good use on the council.

"I want to be able to get in there, get my hands dirty, get things done," he said.