Chapter 5 – Simi Valley’s Political Geography

On September 30, 1969, the residents of the unincorporated communities of Simi and Santa Susana voted nearly two to one to join the two towns at opposite ends of the valley into one city. The City of Simi Valley was incorporated on October 10, 1969.

Simi Valley is a general law city, which means its operation is governed by the California Government Code. (Charter cities on the other hand—like Santa Monica or Los Angeles—operate with more policy-making autonomy according to their own city charter.)

Simi Valley is administered by the council-manager form of city government. Four Council members are elected at-large (citywide rather than by districts) for four-year terms, with half of the open seats filled every two years. A new mayor is elected every two years to fill out the five council seats. The council appoints a city manager who is in charge of the city’s executive branch of government. The city manager is responsible for the administration of all city business, the implementation and execution of city policies, and the hiring of department heads that run various city departments.

Simi Valley is in Ventura County’s 4^th Supervisorial District which is represented by County Supervisor Peter C. Foy (Republican). Supervisors are chosen within the districts they represent every four years, with alternating seats up for reelection every two years.

When first incorporated, Simi Valley relied upon the County of Ventura and special districts for delivering a majority of its services. While the city is largely self-sufficient for most of the services it now delivers, fire protection is still provided by the county.

Simi Valley is in California’s 37^th Assembly District, which is represented by Republican Audra Strickland.

The city is in the 19^th State Senate District and is represented by Republican Tom McClintock.

Simi Valley is represented in the United States House of Representatives’ 24^th Congressional District by Republican Elton Gallegly.

If it seems to you like Simi Valley elects a lot of Republicans, you would be right. People here still think of this as “Reagan Country” and the city is home to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

The Cook Partisan Voting Index (PVI) rating for the 24^th Congressional District is R +5 (meaning that a Republican will usually win an election by 5% of the vote).

SPECIAL DISTRICTS

Established in 1936, the Simi Valley Unified School District served several communities in unincorporated Ventura County including Simi, Santa Susana, Bell Canyon, and Oak Park (which formed its own school district in 1978). The school district still serves unincorporated areas of the county that are adjacent to the city. There are 21 elementary schools, three middle schools, four high schools, an adult vocational school, and an alternative school where students with special needs work one-on-one with instructors.

The Calleguas Municipal Water District provides water to many cities in eastern Ventura County. About three quarters of the water distributed by the district actually come from the giant Metropolitan Water District (MWD) which brings water to 18 million Southern California residents in 6 counties. The remaining water comes from local sources.

The Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District was established pursuant to a vote by residents of the communities located in Simi Valley on October 3, 1961. The district was chartered by the State of California on October 25, 1961.

The district covers a 113 square mile area from Moorpark to the Los Angeles County line and serves over 130,000 people.

Facilities include 40 parks, 3 swimming pools, several historic buildings, a gymnasium, bike trails, two golf courses, and equestrian trails on 3,378 acres, 2,338 of which are undeveloped public open space. The district also maintains an historic park with buildings designated as both State and National landmarks.