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City of Santa Clarita · Statewide General Election

Santa Clarita City Council, District 2

Draft candidate list — early preview until the state’s official list publishes on August 27, 2026.

This is one contest. Enter your address to see every race on your November ballot, and keep track of your picks.

On the ballot

This person holds your district's seat on Santa Clarita's 5-member City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use. A 4-year term.

Three candidates are running for Santa Clarita City Council District 2: Brett Haddoak, Denise Lite and Gloria Mercado-Fortine. None currently holds elected city office — District 2's most recent representative is not seeking re-election — so voters are choosing among three first-time council candidates for a four-year term.

Council seats carry 4-year terms. Winners join four other district representatives voting on the city budget, land-use and development decisions, and municipal ordinances; day-to-day operations run through an appointed city manager rather than any single elected official.

None of the three candidates for District 2 currently holds elected city office, so the choice turns on which of three first-time candidates' backgrounds and priorities best fit the district, rather than a referendum on an incumbent's record.

Brett Haddoak

Haddoak is a lifelong Santa Clarita Valley resident who owns Oakworks Software, an education-software company serving more than 15,000 public school students, and has also built budgeting software for the U.S. Department of Defense. He wants to expand housing options, protect seniors from housing instability, modernize transit and pursue regional traffic fixes. He volunteers on the city's Homelessness Task Force and is endorsed by Rep. George Whitesides and Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo.

Strengths

Runs a 15,000-student education-software company, built software for the Homelessness Task Force's Shared Housing pilot, and holds a federal security clearance from DoD contract work.

Trade-offs

No prior elected or appointed government office; his experience with city policy comes from a task-force volunteer role rather than a council seat.

Keep in mind

His Form 700 reports stock ownership and a financial relationship tied to his own software business — the same company his platform experience draws on.

Denise Lite

Lite is a family-law attorney with a certified legal specialty and a former member of Santa Clarita's Planning Commission. Her campaign has not published a detailed platform; as a longtime Signal opinion columnist, she has written about local control, insurance costs and government accountability. No Form 700 financial disclosure was posted for her on the city's website as of this writing.

Strengths

A certified family-law specialty and prior service on the city's Planning Commission, the closest thing to land-use experience in this field.

Trade-offs

No campaign announcement or detailed platform was found in local coverage; her public writing is opinion commentary, not a stated set of council priorities.

Keep in mind

Her Form 700 was not listed on the city's disclosure website as of publication, unlike her two opponents — a gap in the record rather than a reported absence of interests.

Gloria Mercado-Fortine

Mercado-Fortine is a Santa Clarita native who served 16 years, across four terms, on the William S. Hart Union High School District's governing board. She names youth development, public safety and neighborhood engagement as her priorities, though her campaign has not detailed specific policy proposals. She has been named to The Signal's list of the SCV's 51 Most Influential Leaders more than ten times and is endorsed by Councilman Bill Miranda and Mayor Pro Tem Patsy Ayala.

Strengths

Four terms (16 years) on the Hart school board, a 2018 SCV Woman of the Year honor, and endorsements from two sitting councilmembers.

Trade-offs

No prior city-council or municipal-government experience; her campaign has not published specific policy positions beyond broad priorities.

Keep in mind

Her Form 700 reports no financial interests. Endorsements from Miranda and Ayala, both current councilmembers, suggest continuity with the sitting council's approach.

Source review: Strong (87/100) · 7 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

Last updated August 31, 2026.