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:: HOME :: NEWS :: ARCHIVE :: APR 2010 ::
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Sojka makes candidacy for mayor official
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Steve Sojka, a member of the Simi Valley City Council for 12 years and an active community volunteer and business owner for the past 25 years, announced his candidacy for Mayor of Simi Valley to replace the popular Paul Miller - who already has endorsed Sojka to replace him.
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SIMI VALLEY ACORN, March 26, 2010
City Council member and mayoral candidate Steve Sojka says the thing he’s got over the competition is relevance.
“I served with this council for the past 12 years. I was raised in Simi Valley. I’ve been in the business community for 25 years,” he said. “I think that’s one of my strong suits, that I’ve been in the trenches serving the city.”
Sojka gathered with 100 of his supporters Wednesday on the patio at Lost Canyons Golf Club to kick off his campaign.
While it is no surprise that Sojka is seeking the mayor’s seat—he filed his intent to run in January—now that Mayor Paul Miller has declared he will not run for a fourth term, Sojka’s campaign is officially on.
The 45-year-old, who moved to Simi with his family in 1970, told his throng of supporters that he is running for them, the people who give back to the community and love Simi as much as he does.
“It’s all of you who inspire me to do what I do, to give back to my hometown that gave so much to me,” he said.
A member of the local Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club, Sojka has owned and operated his own business, Money Mailer Direct Mail Advertising, in the Simi and Moorpark area for more than 20 years.
Appointed to the council in 1998 to fill Bill Davis’ seat after Davis was elected mayor, Sojka pointed to his track record, saying his relationship with the business community, experience working on the city budget and focus on public safety are what will make him a great mayor and that he has goals for improvement in each of those areas.
38th District Assemblymember Cameron Smyth (R-Santa Clarita) threw his support behind Sojka, saying his history with the community and business perspective give him the tools needed to navigate the city through the difficult economic climate.
“It is so critical to have leaders in the local community who have been in the trenches . . . and (will) make sure the state doesn’t come in and try to balance its budget on the back of the city,” he said. “Steve will do that.”
The entire City Council was also in attendance to back their colleague.
Councilmember Barbra Williamson enumerated Sojka’s accomplishments, saying that his successes are current and ongoing, not “relics from the past”—a jab at Sojka’s challenger, local attorney Bob Huber, who last served on the council in 1984.
Williamson said she believes someone in the “45 to 54 age bracket” will be better in touch with the community’s needs than “someone whose time has come and gone.”
“I like Bob Huber, but I really like Steve Sojka,” she said with a grin, adding that the city needs “a young, up-and-coming man whose roots are firmly planted in the history of our community but also the future.”
Alan Barkwill, who has lived in Simi for 27 years and has served with Sojka on the Simi Valley Police Foundation board for the past four, said he trusts his leadership and vision for the city.
“We both grew up here, we both went to Simi High, we both are raising families here,” he said. “I know he’ll keep the family in mind, and the youth.”
Sojka’s biggest endorsement comes from Miller, who urged the audience to do everything it could to rally support, noting that campaigns are expensive and the council member is battling “someone with a lot of money” for the city’s top seat.
Sojka spoke to the Acorn after Wednesday’s event and admitted that campaigning got under way for this election more quickly than he would have liked, noting that he would have preferred to wait until the official filing period begins July 12.
While he is worried about putting Simi through a seven-month campaign, Sojka said he plans to run a clean race, just as he has in the past. He said his run for the mayorship would not affect his current work on the council, except that he will be busier.
As for Huber’s recent comment that Miller has “choreographed” his political career, Sojka strongly disagreed.
“Being attached to Paul Miller, to me, is a good thing,” he said. “But he hasn’t choreographed my career. The voters are the ones who decide if I’m their City Council member.”
Simi’s mayor is elected to serve a two-year term. The election is Tues., Nov. 2.
More information: www.sojkaformayor.com
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By: MrSimi
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Posted: Friday, April 23, 2010
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