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Mayor Laurie Ender

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Santa Clarita Mayor Voices Support for Early Education
Santa Clarita Mayor Laurie

Ender paid a special visit to Newhall District State Preschool on March 2, where she encouraged the children to learn how to read and expressed support for the importance of early childhood education.

While visiting the preschool in recognition of children’s author Dr. Seuss’ 108^th birthday anniversary, Ender read “Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?”
Moo! Can You?” to the children and implored them to become good readers themselves.

The children enjoyed the book and often repeated words the Mayor read in an animated manner. When she was done reading the book, Ender reminded the students that they, too, could grow up and write books like Dr. Seuss.

Responding to a little girl who said she had yet to master reading. Ender smiled and said, “You will learn how to read because you’re in preschool, and in preschool, you exercise your brain, just like you exercise your muscles to be strong.”

The event was organized by Los Angeles Universal Preschool (LAUP), a non-profit organization that makes it possible for more than 10,500 four-year-olds in Los Angeles County, including in Santa Clarita, to attend preschool at little or no charge. The event was held to provide the Mayor with an opportunity to see first-hand how high-quality preschool education benefits children.

During her visit, Ender toured the preschool with Newhall School Board Member Suzan Solomon, Newhall School District Preschool Programs Administrator Kelly Ferko, and LAUP Chief Executive Officer Celia C. Ayala.

Ender emphasized the importance of preschool, noting early education provides children with an opportunity to develop good academic and social skills.
Ayala, the CEO of LAUP, thanked the Mayor for her support of early education. “If children are ready for kindergarten, they will thrive,” she added. “If not, those same children
are likely to struggle throughout their journey in school.”

Photo Caption: Santa Clarita Mayor Laurie Ender reads Dr. Seuss’ “Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?” to the children at Newhall District State Preschool, where she implored the students to become good readers.

Patricia McKeon

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Patricia McKeon for the 38th Assembly District

Why are you running?

I went to the grocery store one day last summer and all of a sudden they said I could not have any grocery bags. I requested paper bags and they said they’d charge $0.10 a piece for that. That was because a new rule from the LA County Government where the grocery stores can not give grocery bags any more.

This shows how out of control our government is. How is it possible that as citizens, we can not have a grocery bag to put our groceries?

I looked around to see what is going on and found that there was an open seat here in Santa Clarita and thought I would like to run and try to straighten things for business here in our district.

What are the most important things that you are going to be focused?

The most important things are jobs and economy. We need to change regulations and quit taxing people and business over and over again so the business can stay here so people can live, have a home, have food and stop pushing people out of California.

How can you help the people to have more jobs in our district?

Businesses won’t hire people if they don’t know what to expect as far as their taxes go and the regulation that the state is putting on them. If people in the legislature could help to change the regulation, make it easier to run the businesses, less taxes; like the man at 25 score, he has been in the restaurant for 25 years and this year they change his licensing bill from $100 to $400, and when he asked why you do that, they told him: “Because you cook food here”. He is a restaurant! Of course you cook food, but they charge that much money just this year and that is not right. It is not right to take that much money from the people.

I want to ask you about schools…

Schools are so important. Because if our children and our public is not educated then we don’t know how to progress, so education is so important. I don’t think it is wise to just throw money at schools. I think we need to see the result of the investment. So, if the state is giving money to schools, I want to see the children when they graduate, they have a skill, know how to do math, read, know history, they should know about the constitution of the United States. Some times I feel we are missing on those things and needs to be fixed.

What are the first things you do when you get elected?

Once you get elected, and you go to Sacramento, you choose issues you want to work on and the issues I am really interested is California’s economy, Education is important and then there are a lot of side things that go on that are kind of distracting and I am really worried about the things that are teaching kids in the school. There is some legislation passed that is just not right and I think it needs to be looked at and se what we can do about that because I think we can harm a lot of young people.

The things I’m most passionate about are the jobs and education and to stop all this regulation. It’s hurting everything. There is plenty of money in California but is going to the wrong places. It just needs to be refocused..

Any final message?

I don’t want people to feel discouraged and if we all work together we can make changes that are good for California.

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