Candidates square off at forum

WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers LOOKING FOR YOUR VOTE—Simi Valley City Council and mayoral candidates, from left, Barbra Williamson, Steve Sojka, Daniel Jenkins, Richard Carter, Michael Judge, Gerald Smith, Paul Miller and Bruce Witkin, gathered Wednesday to participate in a candidates' forum sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce and moderated by the Acorn. In a rare event, nearly all the local school board, City Council and Assembly candidates gathered together Wednesday afternoon to take part in a forum to share ideas on the hotbutton topics this election year.

About 90 people filled the conference center at Paul's Italian Villa—the original location at Lost Canyons Golf Club was changed at the last minute due to this week's fire—to hear the candidates speak on some of the most pressing issues facing the city and the state.

The event was sponsored by the Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce and was moderated by John Loesing, managing editor for the Acorn Newspapers.

WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers TALKING EDUCATION—Simi Valley school board candidate Brad Jashinsky, second from right, explains to audience members his three-part platform to improve education while fellow candidates, from left, Debbie Sandland, Ray Cruz and Eric Smith, listen in. Incumbents Rob Collins and Janice DiFatta were unable to attend the forum because they were teaching. Candidates for the Simi Valley Unified School District's Board of Education included incumbent Debbie Sandland and challengers Ray Cruz, Brad Jashinsky and Eric Smith. Incumbents Rob Collins and Janice DiFatta missed the event because they were in class teaching.

Local candidates for Assembly included 37th District incumbent Audra Strickland and challenger Ferial Masry, and 38th District incumbent Cameron Smyth and challenger Carole Lutness.

One of the highlights of the event was having all but one City Council candidate present for the forum. Eight candidates took the stage: council incumbents Barbra Williamson and Steve Sojka alongside their opponents Dan Jenkins, Richard Paul Carter, Mike Judge and Gerald Smith; and Mayor Paul Miller alongside his seat challenger, Bruce Witkin.

Mayoral candidate Ed Lang did not attend the forum.

The economy and budget issues led much of the candidates' discussion.

School board candidates were asked to share their ideas on how to improve safety in all levels of Simi schools as well as how they are going to keep budget cuts due to declining enrollment away from the classroom.

As far as making Simi schools safer, Sandland said there are already a number of programs in place, including two that she helped implement: a Character Education program at the elementary level and a Tolerance Education Program at the secondary level.

However, Cruz said the district's zero-tolerance policy has to be more strictly enforced and not let kids off easy.

Jashinsky and Smith—both of whom are college students— emphasized the need for Simi students to become interested in school again by getting involved in extracurricular or internship activities that would keep them occupied and away from violence or temptations.

All the candidates acknowledged that it would be difficult to keep cuts away from the classroom as enrollment falls and said attendance needs to be encouraged.

But they also said the district needs to run lean since it is expected to lose millions of dollars.

The City Council candidates fielded questions regarding further development within Simi Valley and where the city will make cuts to continue its tradition of a balanced budget.

While Jenkins, Carter and Judge said the city needs to slow down its growth, most of the other candidates advocated a managed growth plan that makes sure the city doesn't grow faster than its infrastructure can handle.

Williamson added that the city is at near build-out and that there is not much more room to grow anyway.

For now, the depressed housing market has essentially stalled any possibility of growth in the city; however, the economy poses other concerns for the candidates as well.

All said tough decisions, in the form of cuts, will have to be made to keep the city's budget on track during the next few years, but they said there are positive things the city can do to minimize the financial squeeze, like seeking state and federal grants, encouraging local shopping to boost tax revenues and maintaining a rainy day fund.

To view the candidate's forum in its entirety, visit the website www.chambertube.com.

Stay tuned to next week's paper for a more in-depth look at what the candidates had to say.

•The Simi Valley PTA/PTSA Council will be hosting a forum Tues., Oct. 21 for the candidates runing for the Simi Valley school board.

The event will take place at City Hall chambers from 5 to 6:30 p.m., 2929 Tapo Canyon Rd.

The six candidates vying for the three open positions are: Janice DiFatta, Rob Collins, Debbie Sandland, Eric Smith, Brad Jashinsky and Raymond Cruz.

For additional information, call Michelle Scharf at (805) 581-9309.