
2022 GENERAL ELECTION CANDIDATES
REGION 1:
Jason Gardner (unopposed)
My name is Jason Gardner. I am a Marine Corps veteran who served on the presidential security team that provided security for President Barrack Obama and President Donald Trump. I have lived in Castaic my whole life. I spent most of my childhood in Double C ranch and now I have a home with my wife Wendy in Live Oak just a 3 minute walk away from the elementary school there. I am currently working in Santa Clarita as the Chief Engineer for a company called the Packard Humanities Institute. The building is called the PHI STOA and it is a 65 acre property right next to College of the Canyons. I am applying for this position because I have grown up here and I have seen it change and evolve over time and I want to continue to serve my community that raised me. I want to be able to represent the people here in the town as best as I can because Castaic is a very special place that really needs to be treasured and taken care of. We have a responsibility as residents in this town to make sure we can pass along a healthy and safe community to our children and their children and whatever we can do to help, we should.
REGION 2: Open - Still accepting applications.
REGION 3:
Eric Larson (Incumbent)
Michael Minor
Hello, my name is Michael "Mike" Minor, and I am applying to become a candidate in representing Region 3 in the Castaic Area Town Council. I am a devoted husband and father and have lived in Castaic for the past 15 years. I ran for and was elected (in 2022) to the Castaic Middle School “School Site Council” where my responsibilities include reviewing, approving, and monitoring the school’s budget and programs. My educational background includes a B.S. in Management, MBA (Minor in International Business), and am a Project Management Professional (PMP). I am a Distinguished Veteran who was honorably discharged from the United State Air Force, I did two overseas tours in Germany and Japan, and received and earned multiple accommodation and service medals and awards. I was honored to receive the “Airman of the Year Award” representing Yokota Air Base, Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), while stationed in Japan. I have been working in the biopharmaceutical and medical device fields for the past 20+ years. I currently manage and lead cross functional teams to develop clinical stage drugs for oncology and autoimmune diseases. As a Director, I influence the team to reach established goals which are in place to ultimately help the patient(s) fight their disease and extend life. I am responsible to ensure programs remain on budget and achieve on time delivery, these budgets range in the hundreds of millions of dollars. In addition to this function, I am responsible for maintaining successful relationships with our collaboration partners and alliances, which includes contract negotiations, governance establishment, milestone tracking and payments. I believe that my professional experiences have given me the tools to work and negotiate with multiple functions (government and private) in achieving what is best for the Castaic Community. If elected I look forward to serving Castaic and representing Region 3 on the issues we have been facing (i.e., Traffic gridlock and the lack of infrastructure funding) are at the front of our minds. When the Sloan Canyon Rd fatality and multiple wrecks occurred at the curve, I was one of the residents that spoke up about changes that needed to be made, for the safety of the residents, school traffic, and pedestrians. My camera footage is what was circulating to the press and our local community. I will not sit quietly when changes need to be made.
REGION 4:
Bob Lewis (Incumbent)
Resident of Castaic since 1989. Current member of town council.
John Allen
My name is John Allen and I’ve been a resident of Castaic, going on forty years. When I moved to Castaic in 1983, I was a father of a 4-year-old boy. My wife (of 51 years) and I were looking for a safe, small town to raise our son.
I worked 18 years as a Director for a computer company, taught evening classes at Pierce and LA Valley college for 6 years, then patented an idea and started a successful business in 2004. I have had a facility in the Valencia Industrial Center for the past 5 years.
At this point in my life, I’m looking to get more involved with the management of my town.
During my residency in Castaic, I was active in improving my town and have accomplished the following:
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1988: Played a major role in communicating with Supervisor Antonovich’s office to develop the designated Castaic-park areas after I was interviewed by a CBS TV News reporter.
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Supervisor Antonovich announced prior to his reelection of 1988 that he authorized the development of two parks (Sloan Cyn & Hasley Cyn) and the Castaic Recreation Center.
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1989: Led a petition drive to rezone the prior Walgreens area from low-cost housing to an area zoned for business. At that time there wasn’t many businesses in Castaic.
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1997: For two years I went back and forth with the county of Los Angeles before they agreed to finish paving Sloan Cyn. Road, from The Old Road to Parker as it was unpaved dirt.
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REGION 5:
Chris Dittes (Incumbent)
I joined the Council about a year ago during the pandemic, taking over the Region 5 seat. Over this time, I've learned alot about how things work, and have met many people who selflessly work hard in the background to ensure the community's concerns are addressed.
I have dedicated much time and energy getting up to speed in this unfamiliar environment. Believe me, there is a learning curve.
I joined the Council to fill a vacant seat, and have only been able to serve a partial term. In this short time, I have become the Vice President on the Council, and have formed many important working relationships with your elected government officials, community leaders, first responders, business owners, and many Castaic residents.
Civil service requires time and dedication to follow the issues that effect our daily lives. Most of the time, these things are discussed and decided while most people aren't really paying attention. These decisions directly effect the community, and my goal is continue to be your voice, representing your interests.
The issues that plague our town are well known....
Traffic congestion, safety, infrastructure, insurance, environmental protection, vacant properties, homelessness, planning, and in general, our quality of life.
If you wonder if my concerns and positions align with yours, please go back and review my participation in the Town Hall meetings on the Castaic Area Town Council Facebook page. There, you can watch every meeting we've held over the past year. I believe you will find that my participation will prove that my priorities are most likely the same as yours.
Voting is both a privilege and a responsibility. It is your chance to decide who represents your interests best. It is important to know what or whom you are voting for before you cast any ballot.
I feel that I have done a good job representing your interests, but please don't take my word for it. Go back and review for yourself.
I would really like to continue building on what we've started. To continue to put pressure on our County and State leaders to help us get the much needed attention that hard working residents of Castaic deserve.
I've lived here for over 30 years. I love Castaic and I humbly ask for your vote so I can continue to serve and help improve our community.
Arnold D. Kraft
My Name is Arnold Kraft I'm 57yrs old and have lived in Castaic over 10yrs. I have always cared about my community that I have lived in and tried doing my part to make it a safer, better place to live in for our youth's, families and elderly that reside in it. Whether if it was just being a coach for our local pop warner football league's To being part of my father non-profit Belvedere-Park Lake-Youth Fishing Club he started 20 plus yrs ago for the East Los Angeles communitie. We... my and I Had concerns of our local community park at that time was Belvedere-Park located in East Los Angeles was had safety issues for its residents and travels alike. Some of the issues where run down landscape, no concrete walkways, no play grounds, no airrgatetion for the lake,ect. Our Youth Fishing was efillyated with both the east Los Angeles Sheriff's department and LA Park and Rec's. My father and I had address these issues over meeting with Super Intended Supervisor Gloria Medina office and her at the time. And with patience and understanding of both parties we were able make a positive change for our community. The park and lake was completely redone and a library and parking lot added along with signals and cross walks to utilize the park safely. As for my community that I reside in now Castaic. I like many other Love it. With the Route fire things open up my eyes with Factual Matters. And if their any way that I could be of service in order to help make our Beautiful community's a safer, better place to Live, Visit, Own Business,Work In ect. Then I'd like to do my part here in my community that I live in now.
Region 1: Live Oak, North Bluffs, Hillcrest Park, Hasley Hills and the Valencia Commerce Center
Region 2: Val Verde
Region 3: Hasley, Sloan and Romero Canyons
Region 4: Meadowood, Bravo, Encore, Castaic east of I-5 & south of Lake Hughes Road
Region 5: Double C Ranch, Hidden Lake, Stonegate, NorthLake, Castaic east of I-5 and north of Lake Hughes Road
