The Talk of Santa Clarita has been on hiatus (and technically still is) however, the recent “shelter in place” orders and the general situation with the Corona Virus made me realize that perhaps a few special edition episodes may be of help to the community. We are doing three, possibly four special episodes in the next few weeks. Then, a return to a hiatus state until the Fall. This is Episode 149 a Special Corona Virus edition with the mayor of Santa Clarita, Cameron Smyth. Cameron Smyth is well-known in the Santa Clarita community. He is the youngest person to have served on the City Council which led to several years in the California Assembly. He now has returned to serve the city he loves as a City Councilmember again and he is currently the Mayor for the city as well.For those who don’t know, in Santa Clarita, the Mayor is considered more of an honorary roll which is rotated by the five councilmembers. Day to day operations of the city are dependent on Ken Striplin, the City Manager. But the Mayor serves a very specific purpose as the main representative of the city and leader in the time of crisis.I had been planning to do another podcast with Cameron for quite sometime and we had set several dates which continually got postponed by both of us. However, the corona virus pandemic suddenly made the need to speak with the City’s chief representative more urgent. So, improvising with Zoom’s features, Mayor Smyth and I sat down and talked about the state of the city in the midst of this crisis.This podcast was recorded on Saturday, March 28th, 2020. Cameron was in good spirits when we spoke but there was an attitude of seriousness when we spoke about the “stay at home” order in the city. We talked about what was being done, what has had to be done in some cases, and what the future might bring. We also talked a bit about the decision the city has made to go to district voting for City Council.I am a fan of Cameron Smyth and think he works hard for the city. However, I will say this, my feeling is that the city of Santa Clarita has grown to a size where the role of Mayor should be more than rotational position for city councilmembers. In situations such as the one we are currently in, we need a leader making daily decisions who is directly answerable to the people who live in it. And with the decision to go to districts about to happen, now more than ever it is time to call for a city-wide elected mayor of Santa Clarita. OK, I’ll get off my soapbox for now.Ultimately though, my conversation with Mayor Smyth led to one conclusion. We can get through this pandemic if, and I’m paraphrasing here: “Nobody is a dick.” We need to abide by the stay at home ordinance as long as it exists. For two reasons, to keep yourself safe and everyone else as well. I want to thank Cameron for taking the time to sit down with me for this podcast courtesy of Zoom. Hopefully you’ll find it reassuring to find out the City is doing its job to help stop the pandemic of the Corona Virus.

Click on the link below to view a video version of this podcast:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5aWXb6B_aY