Election Day may be 10 months away, but some Simi Valley City Council incumbents and one newcomer are already gearing up for the 2010 campaign season.

The mayoral post as well as the seats of two councilmembers—Glen Becerra and Michelle Foster—are up for grabs this year.

Though the nomination filing period will not officially begin until sometime this summer, Steve Sojka got a jump on the competition this week. On Wednesday Sojka, who’s served on the council since 1998, filed an intent to run for the office of mayor.

In an interview with the Acorn on Thursday, Sojka said that by filing the form he wasn’t announcing his candidacy but simply “exploring” the idea. He added that the ball is still in the court of Mayor Paul Miller.

“At the urging of my constituents, my friends and family, I’m exploring the opportunities on running for mayor,” Sojka said. “But let me make it clear, I’m not going to run against Paul Miller if he decides to run for a fourth term. I consider Paul a close friend and mentor and he’s been one of Simi Valley’s finest mayors.”

Sojka isn’t up for reelection, having secured another four-year term on the council in 2008. Essentially, he has a free ride for the mayor’s position because if he loses, he’ll still keep his council seat.

If he were to win, Sojka would have to resign his council seat and accept the mayorship, and then the council would have to decide whether or not to hold an election to fill the empty council chair or appoint someone to the position.

Also taking part in the city elections is Becerra, who in September filed his intent to run for reelection. He also submitted a campaign finance document to the city clerk’s office that allows him to form a committee—Glen Becerra for City Council 2010—and start raising funds in excess of $1,000 for his campaign.

According to Samantha Argabrite, the city’s new elections coordinator, a candidate or committee must file a statement of organization within 10 days of receiving contributions of $1,000 or more.

Foster has yet to draw papers with the city clerk’s office.

So far, the only newcomer is Mitch Green, who is no stranger to public service. Green currently serves as the assistant city attorney for Simi Valley. The lawyer filed his intent to run in October along with a statement of organization to form the Committee to Elect Mitch Green.

Along with these candidates, the Police Officers Association— the union that represents all 110 of Simi’s sworn officers below the rank of lieutenant—also filed papers in November to form a committee.

The committee’s full name is the Simi Valley Police Officers Association PAC, or political action committee. On the documentation submitted to the city, the general purpose of the committee is “to support and/or oppose candidates and/ or ballot measures in Simi Valley.”

This is the first time the POA has formed such a committee. Detective Bill Daniels, president of the POA, said the union had discussed the idea of setting up a PAC fund for years but never got around to doing it.

He said the union has always been politically active as candidates often come to the association seeking endorsement. He said the move to set up a fund is not a result of the recent contract negotiations but rather the POA catching up with the times.

“We decided it was time to have something in place. Maybe we use it, maybe we don’t, but if we want to do something, we have to have it in place,” Daniels said. “Every association in the county has one of these . . . we just it felt it was time to do that.”

To raise money, a portion of members’ dues are diverted into the account.

In September, a letter signed by Daniels was sent to the city requesting that the bi-weekly payroll deduction for association dues for all active members be increased from $43 to $60. The letter said the additional $17 per member per pay period would be kept separate from the other funds and be payable to the POA’s PAC fund.

The association’s board of directors unanimously approved this dues increase and the creation of the PAC fund.