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In effect this set the stage for city formation to come later. Among the local leaders who were
involved in this effort were :JoAnne Darcy, Jan Heidt, Carl Boyer and Clyde Smyth.

There are many stories, some funny, to flesh out the Canyon County portion of local history. My
files were given to the Historical Society for safe keeping.

Following the Canyon County effort for local government, a couple of small groups formed to
explore City Formation. It was not until 1985 when Louis Garasi and I Co-Chaired the effort
that the SUCCESSFUL "BIG PUSH" OCCURRED.

B.) The successful drive for Cityhood began in 1985 with a strong endorsement by the Chamber
of Commerce, and subsequent involvement by many clubs and organizations. By this time the
area had grown substantially, and with the new residents came a strong desire for self-
determination.

The inadequacy of infrastructure was an important ~omponent in selling "city formation". The
need for roads, more parks and recreation facilities were explained as items more easily obtained
with a locally elected Council. Not having to drive 50 to 75 miles to Los Angeles was another
feature of City formation.

A City Formation committee was formed and included many members of the Chamber, many
members from clubs and some members who were new to the area and to volunteerism. Among
them were Jill Klajic and Allan Cameron. Weekly meetings were held, and many ofthe same
procedures developed for County formation were now used in trying to form a City. A solid
relationship was established with the Local Agency Formation Committee (who had no direct
involvement in the County effort, as that is a State driven function.) and Ruth Benell and Miehe
Takahashi received numerous visits by the City Formation Committee.

Once again petitions were circulated and more than 25% of the signatures of registered voters
were obtained. This time house to house drives were augmented by signature gathering in
shopping centers and super markets. Extensive public relations efforts were employed, hundreds
of speeches given and written reports appeared in local and regional papers as well as
periodicals.

Louis Garasi found his time commitment at his business would preclude his continuance as Co-
Chair. Consequently, he was replaced by Carl Boyer and then when Carl filed for a seat on the
City Council, Art Donnelly chaired the committee. Getting the message out to the public in a
consistent manner and influencing decision makers was deemed important. I continued to speak
and write for the Formation Committee and volunteered in this capacity.

The City of Santa Clarita became reality in November of 1987, and the first organizational
meeting was held on a bitterly cold night at College of the Canyons in December. The weather
did not preclude attendance by well over 2,000 members of the public whose enthusiasm and
delight in achieving self-government warmed the cavernous gymnasium.