# Santa Clarita City Council, District 4 Compare records and positions simply between Laurene Weste, Nick Somers, and 3 more for Santa Clarita City Council, District 4 at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds your district's seat on Santa Clarita's 5-member City Council. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use. The term is four years. - Jurisdiction: City of Santa Clarita - Election: November 3, 2026 California general election - Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements. - Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/santa-clarita-council-4 - Full ballot: this page covers one race. Every contest on a voter's own ballot, by address, with the same breakdown for each: https://voteorelse.com/ - Sources last retrieved: October 7, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 89 out of 100 (Strong), across 8 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Laurene Weste** — Incumbent - **Nick Somers** - **Valerie Bradford** - **Jeffrey Berman** - **Peter Yahiayan** A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. 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 them was found in local news coverage as of publication. Their 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:** Berman's Form 700 lists stock investments; beyond that, voters have little published material to evaluate them on ahead of Election Day. ## Valerie Bradford Bradford is a retired human-resources professional who has raised their family in Santa Clarita. They are running on transparency and accountability from City Hall, citing the cost of living, fire insurance and road congestion as the issues they hear most from residents. They reported no financial interests on their Form 700 disclosure. In their Vote411 questionnaire they describe more than two decades in Santa Clarita, founding a local nonprofit as its first president, 24 years in human resources, and a College of the Canyons degree in small business management and entrepreneurship. They also describe volunteer work feeding the hungry and assisting people experiencing homelessness. Their three stated priorities are keeping road infrastructure in step with new development; helping small and large businesses, with a faster process for new ones and better retention and security for existing ones; and housing that working-class residents can afford, including teachers, seniors and young adults. **Strengths:** A retired HR career and, by their own account, founding presidency of a local nonprofit. Bradford reported no financial interests on their Form 700, the cleanest disclosure in this field. **Trade-offs:** No prior elected or appointed city office. Their priorities answer names goals such as faster permitting and affordable housing without specific proposals. **Keep in mind:** Their campaign message centers on transparency from the council, without naming a specific dispute. Their nonprofit and HR record is their own account. ## 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. In his Vote411 questionnaire he describes service with the Santa Clarita Valley Search & Rescue Team, a license as an EMT, and many years in film production coordinating crews of 20 to 30 or more people. He calls himself a husband and father who is not a career politician. His three stated priorities are responsible growth, with roads, schools, public safety and healthcare keeping pace with new housing; support for working families through more housing options, local businesses and quality jobs; and public safety paired with fiscal accountability, including more transparency about his own votes. **Strengths:** Owns a film-production sound-stage business and, by his own account, is a licensed EMT who serves with the Santa Clarita Valley Search & Rescue Team. **Trade-offs:** No prior city office, and no campaign announcement was found in local coverage. His priorities are broad aims more than specific proposals. **Keep in mind:** His Form 700 lists stock investments and ownership of Nvisionate. His emergency-response and crew-leadership background is his own account. ## 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 them was found in local news coverage as of publication. They have 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 Yahiayan's background or priorities has been reported as of this writing; voters weighing this race will need to look beyond the published record. ## Sources 1. [City of Santa Clarita — List of Qualified Candidates memo (City Clerk Melody Bartlette, 8/13/26)](https://santaclarita.gov/city-clerk/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2026/08/List-of-Qualified-Candidates-Memo.pdf) 2. [City of Santa Clarita — City Clerk, Elections (district-election system, campaign-filings portal)](https://santaclarita.gov/city-clerk/elections/) 3. [City of Santa Clarita — Mayor Laurene Weste (official council bio)](https://santaclarita.gov/city-council/laurene-weste/) 4. [City of Santa Clarita — CampaignDocs eRetrieval (SouthTech/Granicus campaign-finance disclosure system)](https://www.southtechhosting.com/SantaClaritaCity/CampaignDocsWebRetrieval/) 5. [Santa Clarita Valley Signal — City Council candidate filing period opens July 13 (2026-07-02)](https://signalscv.com/2026/07/city-council-candidate-filing-period-opens-july-13/) 6. [Santa Clarita Valley Signal — Update: City Council races shape up (2026-08, post-filing-deadline roundup with Form 700 review of all 11 District 2/4/5 candidates)](https://signalscv.com/2026/08/city-council-races-shape-up/) 7. [Santa Clarita Valley Signal — Bradford announces campaign for City Council, District 4 (2026-07-22)](https://signalscv.com/2026/07/bradford-announces-campaign-for-city-council-district-4/) 8. [League of Women Voters -- Vote411 voter guide, 'City of Santa Clarita City Council Member, District 4' race (statewide All Races list): each candidate's self-submitted ballot designation and campaign contacts, plus answers to the League's questions -- If elected, what are your top 3 priorities?; What background, experience and/or education qualify you for this elected office? Answers on file from Nick Somers, Valerie Bradford. Capture in data/nov-2026/sources/vote411/santa-clarita-council-4.json.](https://www.vote411.org/plan-your-vote) ## The rest of the ballot Santa Clarita City Council, District 4 is one contest among the many a California voter decides on November 3, 2026 — Congress, the Legislature, county, city, and school board races differ by address. Vote or Else builds the full list for any California address and breaks down each contest the way this page does, with no account and without storing the address: https://voteorelse.com/ ## How to cite this page Vote or Else, "Santa Clarita City Council, District 4 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/santa-clarita-council-4 (sources last retrieved October 7, 2026). Link the canonical page above rather than this Markdown file. Coverage is updated as the race develops, so quote it with its retrieval date.