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City of Santa Clarita · Statewide General Election

Santa Clarita City Council, District 4

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.

Five candidates are running for Santa Clarita City Council District 4: Jeffrey Berman, Valerie Bradford, Nick Somers, Laurene Weste and Peter Yahiayan. Weste is the only incumbent in the field — on the council since 1998 and the city's current mayor — facing four challengers with no city-office experience, 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.

Incumbent Laurene Weste, on the council since 1998, faces four challengers with no city-office experience, so the practical choice is whether nearly three decades of incumbency should continue or give way to a newer council voice.

Jeffrey Berman

Berman works as a creative director and video producer. No campaign announcement or platform statement from him was found in local news coverage as of publication. His Form 700 disclosure lists stock investments.

Strengths

A media-production career as creative director and video producer; no further public background was found in local coverage.

Trade-offs

No campaign announcement, endorsement or platform statement was found in local coverage as of publication — the thinnest public record in this field.

Keep in mind

His Form 700 lists stock investments; beyond that, voters have little published material to evaluate him on ahead of Election Day.

Valerie Bradford

Bradford is a retired human-resources professional who has raised her family in Santa Clarita. She is running on transparency and accountability from City Hall, citing the cost of living, fire insurance and road congestion as the issues she hears most from residents. She reported no financial interests on her Form 700 disclosure.

Strengths

A retired HR career and a stated focus on transparency; she reported no financial interests on her Form 700, the cleanest disclosure in this field.

Trade-offs

No prior elected or appointed city office; her campaign has not detailed specific policy proposals beyond stated priorities.

Keep in mind

Her campaign message centers on more transparency from the council, a critique of how the current council operates, without naming a specific dispute.

Nick Somers

Somers is the sole proprietor of Nvisionate, a film-production sound stage in North Hollywood. No campaign announcement or platform statement from him was found in local news coverage as of publication. His Form 700 disclosure lists stock investments and ownership of his business.

Strengths

Owns and operates a film-production sound-stage business; no further public background was found in local coverage.

Trade-offs

No campaign announcement, endorsement or platform statement was found in local coverage as of publication — one of the thinnest public records in this field.

Keep in mind

His Form 700 lists stock investments and business ownership tied to Nvisionate; beyond that, voters have little published material to evaluate him on.

Laurene Weste

Weste is the incumbent, on the Santa Clarita City Council since 1998 and its current mayor. A property manager by profession, she names acquiring open space, easing traffic, building sports fields and revitalizing Old Town Newhall among her priorities. Her tenure includes preserving thousands of acres of open space and building the city's cross-town trail system.

Strengths

Nearly three decades on the council, credited with preserving thousands of acres of open space and building the city's cross-town trail system.

Trade-offs

Her updated Form 700 was unavailable at publication; her long tenure is also the longest incumbency District 4 voters can weigh a fresh alternative against.

Keep in mind

As the only incumbent in this field, her record is the clearest point of comparison for the choice between continuity and a new council voice.

Peter Yahiayan

Yahiayan qualified as a candidate for District 4 shortly before the filing deadline, according to Signal reporting. No campaign announcement, platform statement or financial disclosure summary for him was found in local news coverage as of publication. He has not previously held elected or appointed city office.

Strengths

Qualified as one of five candidates in District 4's first contested election under the new district boundaries.

Trade-offs

No campaign announcement, platform statement or Form 700 summary was found in local coverage as of publication — the thinnest public record in this field.

Keep in mind

Essentially nothing about his background or priorities has been reported as of this writing; voters weighing this race will need to look beyond the published record.

Source review: Strong (88/100) · 7 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

Last updated August 31, 2026.