Home » Santa Clarita News » Politics » Santa Clarita Elections » Cameron Smyth Announces Candidacy In 2016 Santa Clarita City Council Election
The deputy stabbed in Canyon Country is reportedly stable and the suspect is in custody, and local leader, Cameron Smyth, has issued a statement regarding this morning’s incident.
The deputy stabbed in Canyon Country is reportedly stable and the suspect is in custody, and local leader, Cameron Smyth, has issued a statement regarding this morning’s incident.

Cameron Smyth Announces Candidacy In 2016 Santa Clarita City Council Election

Cameron Smyth, a former assemblyman and Santa Clarita mayor, formally announced his candidacy in the 2016 Santa Clarita City Council election during a special appearance on KHTS AM-1220 on Friday.


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Smyth represented the 38th assembly district, which encompasses Simi Valley, part of the San Fernando Valley and most of the Santa Clarita Valley, from 2006 to 2012. In addition, he was a member of the Santa Clarita City Council from 2000 to 2006, serving as the city’s mayor in 2003 and 2005.

Cameron Smyth announcing his candidacy Friday on KHTS AM-1220. Photo by Steven Brentnall.

Cameron Smyth discussing his plans for Santa Clarita with KHTS AM-1220’s Melissa Lampert. Photo by Steven M. Brentnall.

“I was brought up to always believe in service and giving back to our community,” Smyth said, noting that both his parents were teachers and that his father served as the superintendent of the Hart District as well as a Santa Clarita City Council member.

While Smyth said he had a great time serving on the council and state legislature, he made the decision to pull back from the political realm for a few reasons.

“I left four years ago not because I was done serving, but the combination of term limits and, quite candidly, the impact on my family that the job had,” he said. “We made a decision to step away for awhile, but we always were open to what may or may not come. I never lost my desire to serve.”

After receiving encouragement from friends, family and community leaders to run for a variety of offices over the last several years, Smyth ultimately made the decision to return to politics on the local level.

“We’ve really begun to focus on coming back to City Hall,” he said. “We felt now was the right time, and Santa is the right place.”

Smyth continued that he feels the city of Santa Clarita is at “a tipping point” in its growth, making this year’s election more important than ever.

“We’re no longer the small town that I grew up in; we’re the third largest city on L.A. County,” he said. “I honestly believe that the decisions the council is going to make over the next several years will really determine, will Santa Clarita remain the premier city that it is now, or will we go the way of other large cities?”

Related: Former Assemblyman Looking To Possibly Run For Santa Clarita City Council

A few indicators of what Smyth called “bigger city problems” have already begun to appear in Santa Clarita, including a rising number of traffic-related fatalities and murders.

“Last year, we had more murders than any year past in the city,” he said. “Is that an anomaly or is that an indicator of things to come?”

As the father of three elementary school-aged children, Smyth noted another vital issue that needs to be addressed is the prevalence of drugs among youth in the community and on school campuses.

“I think it’s important that we have someone on the council who has a young family and who has young kids and is going to be living the life of ‘every day,’ what most people in Santa Clarita do,” he said. “I want to bring the council back to focusing on the real nuts and bolts issues of the city and what a city should be focused on.”

A common question Smyth has received since he began considering running in the 2016 Santa Clarita City Council election was whether or not he had plans to use it as a stepping stone to a position in a higher office.

“If I had wanted to run for higher office, there have been ample opportunities since I left the Assembly,” he said. “My purpose in running for the council now is to do nothing other than to make sure that Santa Clarita is a place that my kids want to stay and raise their own families.”

To visit Cameron Smyth’s official website, click here. To visit “Cameron Smyth for City Council” on Facebook,  click here.

Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or drop us a line at community@hometownstation.com.

KHTS AM 1220 - Santa Clarita Radio

Cameron Smyth Announces Candidacy In 2016 Santa Clarita City Council Election

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About Melissa Lampert-Abramovitch

Melissa Lampert-Abramovitch has been writing for KHTS since Feb. 2014. She currently writes “Community Spotlight” and feature stories, and coordinates all aspects of both the”KHTS Adopt a Pet” video feature series and “Top Things to Do in Santa Clarita.” She is the creator of “KHTS Adopt a Pet” and acted as News Editor from 2019-2020, as well as Features Director and Newsroom Manager from 2016-2018. A former Valley Publications Staff Writer, Melissa was a contributor to the Santa Clarita Gazette and Canyon Country Magazine from 2015-2016. She has published feature stories with Pet Me Magazine, The Pet Press, The Signal, COC's Cougar News, and KJAMS Radio.