Westside Reader June 16

WR June 16_Layout 1 5/29/16 12:25 PM Page 24
24 • THE Reader
Reader Opinion
o u r v i e W
state senate, 21st district:
scott Wilk
There was a time when you could have said
Scott Wilk was a rising political star in our
community. Now, it’s fair to say the star has
risen.
Building upon his career as a legislative
aide and a successful public affairs consultant,
Wilk was first elected to public office in
2007 as a member of the College of the
Canyons board of trustees. He has continued
to be a strong advocate for quality education
during his nearly four years representing the
38th Assembly District.
And, when highly respected state Sen.
Sharon Runner announced she would not
seek re-election, Wilk quickly emerged as her
logical successor.
Wilk is a common-sense advocate for economic
development, and has become one of
the top legislators battling against ill-advised
state spending, such as the $68 billion highspeed
rail line. He has worked diligently to attract
and keep key industries in California,
including aerospace and entertainment production,
and has authored and supported numerous
bills designed to improve public
education.
To say we’re proud of this home-grown
leader is an understatement. We wholeheartedly
endorse Scott Wilk for the state
Senate.
www.wilkforca.com
state assembly, 38th district:
dante acosta
As Scott Wilk seeks to move into the state
Senate, there’s of course a bit of a political
chain reaction, so as Wilk became the logical
successor to Sharon Runner, thus was created
the need for a logical successor to replace
Wilk in the Assembly.
That’s where Mayor Pro Tem Dante Acosta
comes in.
With a career background in the auto industry
and financial services, Acosta was first
elected to the Santa Clarita City Council in
2014. Since then, he has become respected as
an advocate for fiscal responsibility, public
safety, and issues affecting youth and seniors.
He’s also continued to advocate for issues
affecting members of the military and their
families — something that’s close to his
heart, as his eldest son, Army Spec. Rudy
Acosta, was killed in action in Afghanistan in
2011.
Acosta’s message to voters: “I will fight to
restore our beautiful state by reducing regulations,
securing our borders, keeping criminals
in prison where they belong,
incentivizing businesses to return to California
and bringing more jobs to the state.”
It seems we have another rising star in our
midst. We hope you’ll join us and vote for
Dante Acosta.
www.danteacosta.com
l.a. county supervisor, 5th district:
kathryn Barger
For the first time since 1980, Michael
Antonovich will not be on the ballot for elecreader
endorsements for June 2016
There are a wide variety of important issues
and elected offices on the June 7
California primary ballot, from the national
level to the local one. As Santa Clarita
Valley voters prepare to head to the polls, the
Reader proudly offers the following endorsements
in races of local interest:
college of the canyons
measure e: yes
Over the past several decades, College of
the Canyons has done a tremendous job of
meeting the Santa Clarita Valley’s ever-growing
needs, providing high-quality, affordable
college education to a student body that has
grown to 20,000 strong.
That number is projected to grow by half
in the next decade or so, as the community
grows and COC continues to fill its role as the
first college of choice for approximately
three-quarters of the SCV’s graduating high
school seniors.
To not only accommodate that growth but
also to prepare for it, the COC board of
trustees has placed Measure E on the ballot.
The $230 million bond initiative would provide
much-needed classroom and laboratory
space to equip our community’s college to
continue building on its track record of excellence.
If approved, Measure E will fund four new
buildings totaling 172,000 square feet at the
Canyon Country campus. On the Valencia
campus, the measure would fund 1,000 new
parking spaces and renovation of 350,000
square feet of learning space, much of which
is more than 40 years old.
COC provides top-notch education at a cost
that’s less than 10 percent that of attending a
California State University campus. Measure
E will equip COC to continue meeting our
community’s growing needs for many years
to come. We strongly encourage a “Yes” vote.
www.yesoneforcoc.com
u.s. congress, 25th district:
steve knight
The Santa Clarita Valley is fortunate to have
Steve Knight take the reins as successor to
our longtime congressman, Howard “Buck”
McKeon. In his freshman term in Congress,
Knight has been a strong advocate for fiscal
responsibility, and has responded to the SCV’s
need for aggressive representation on issues
that affect our community, including the proposed
CEMEX sand and gravel mine in
Soledad Canyon.
Knight, an Army veteran and an 18-year
member of the Los Angeles Police Department,
places a great deal of emphasis on job
creation and public safety, just as he did during
his previous tenures on the Palmdale City
Council and in the state Senate and Assembly.
His positions on the major issues are in
step with the majority of Santa Clarita Valley
residents, and he’s been an influential advocate
for measures that would facilitate
drought relief for California.
Rep. Knight has earned a second term in
Congress, and we hope he’s earned your vote.
www.steveknight.org
by Dave Bossert
Contributing Writer
tion as the supervisor representing the
county’s 5th District. Antonovich, who was
elected prior to the creation of term limits for
the Board of Supervisors, is being termed out
of office and running for a state Senate district
representing San Gabriel Valley foothill
communities.
That leaves an important vacancy to be
filled, and there’s no one better equipped to
handle the task than Antonovich’s 15-year
chief deputy supervisor, Kathryn Barger.
Barger is a highly respected problemsolver
who has won bipartisan praise for her
ability to make government more efficient,
reducing bureaucracy and cutting through
red tape. She’s a committed supporter of
dav e B o s s e r t
June 2016
the importance of the June
primary to our valley
communities
It is an understatement to say that this
year’s election is anything but ordinary.
As many have experienced thus far, this
election “season” has been in full swing for
the last six months and most are fatigued by
the political circus that has been playing out
across the media on a daily basis. But don’t
let that distract you from the importance of
the election on a local level.
After thirty-six years, Supervisor Michael
D. Antonovich terms out of office this November.
In my view this is a glaring example of all
that is wrong with term limits. Antonovich
has done a superior job supervising the fifth
district of Los Angeles County for more than
three decades. He and his staff have done a
tremendous amount for the West Ranch communities
and the Santa Clarita Valley at large
over the years, always stepping up to the plate
by listening to the community, serving the
community’s wants and needs.
The deep well brine injection well was the
most recent example of help that our community
received from the Supervisor and his staff.
Taking the lead on that issue was Kathryn
Barger, the chief of staff for Supervisor
Antonovich. From the moment that the West
Ranch Town Council and others in the community
contacted the Supervisor’s office vehemently
opposed to the injection well,
Kathryn Barger took the lead with other
county staff. They not only listened to our concerns
but they acted quickly and decisively in
stopping the proposed brine injection well, not
only in the West Ranch area but valley wide.
There have been many other issues over
the years that required the support and action
of the Supervisor office from roadways and
traffic signals to parks and libraries. The one
constant has been that Supervisor Antonovich
and his staff has been there in lockstep with
our West Ranch and Valley communities.
This is why it is so important for the continuity
to continue after the November election.
Kathryn Barger is one of eight contenders
vying to be Supervisor of the fifth district and
it is no surprise that she is the leading candidate.
She is intelligent and has the ability to
reach across the aisle and bring both sides together
for the good of the communities. “I am
running to be your County Supervisor because
I care about our community and understand
firsthand how important county
government is to the lives of those living in the
Fifth District,” she stated in her campaign.
The other candidates will need on-the-job
training and that training will come at the
detriment of our communities. The other
thing that I find disturbing is that some of the
other candidates are ethically challenged, one
taking free ads on electronic billboards in a
potential quid pro-quo arrangement. Voters
are tired of those types of politicians as evidenced
by the backlash in this election cycle.
But let’s we can’t through the baby out with
the bathwater as they say. There are very
good and dedicated public servants and
Kathryn Barger is one of them.
Barger was born and raised in the fifth district
and has worked her entire adult life in
the county. She has the depth and breadth of
knowledge of how the county works and how
to get things done. That is so important to
being able to get anything done in government;
knowing how the process, the machine,
works. But knowing the process is just the beginning,
she is also a qualified, strong and experienced
leader that has been working with
Supervisor Antonovich for years. In other
words, Barger is qualified to do the job right
now and with step right into the role without
interruption and the Fifth District will better
off for it.
More than ever, voters should be scrutinizing
candidates running for all positions and
ask the simple question; will this person truly
represent the best interests of our community.
Does the person have a track record for
doing the right thing, for being ethical, dealing
with the tough issues even handedly and
with a moral compass. If you believe that they
will, than that is the person that you should
vote for. That is why I am supporting and voting
for Kathryn Barger for Supervisor of the
Fifth District of Los Angeles County. R
Dave Bossert is a community volunteer who
serves on a number of boards and councils. He
is an award winning artist, filmmaker and author.
His commentaries represent his own
opinions and not necessarily the views of any
organization he may be affiliated with or
those of the Westside Reader. Dave writes a
regular weekly column online at
www.thescvebeacon.com
public safety and was a key figure in L.A.
County’s implementation of Megan’s Law to
protect children from sexual predators.
Born and raised in the 5th District — and
the only candidate who can make that claim
— Barger holds a communications degree
from Ohio Wesleyan University. She briefly
pursued a private sector career before being
drawn to her true passion in public service.
Kathryn Barger will continue building
upon Antonovich’s legacy of fiscal responsibility,
public safety and responsiveness to the
needs of the communities in the 5th District,
including the Santa Clarita Valley. She deserves
your vote on June 7.
www.kathrynbarger.com R