Mayor Cameron Smyth

Mayor Cameron Smyth is a Santa Clarita native. He was born and raised locally after his family moved into town in the 1970s and is a Hart High alumni; his father was the principal at Placerita Jr. High and then Superintendent of the Hart District as he grew up. Mayor Smyth has been involved in the Santa Clarita City Council since 2000 and is currently serving his 4th term as mayor in 2020, after leaving to serve in the California State Assembly from 2006-2012.
Working in the state capitol was certainly a change of pace, but as he puts it, “the day-to-day decisions don’t happen in Sacramento;” they happen in local governments. The six years spent in the state assembly were “eye-opening” for Mayor Smyth as he was presented with a wide “breadth of issues” impacting California, which were far more broad than the situations presented in Santa Clarita. This work experience aided Mayor Smyth in understanding a plethora of people and situations, and he returned to Santa Clarita with a fresh perspective to share with his community and council.
“I got into public service to help my community,” recalls Mayor Smyth. The dynamic of Santa Clarita has certainly changed over the decades – diversified, and he has witnessed it firsthand. For Smyth, “it’s difficult to say no” to community members who present beneficial ideas to the city, but he is dedicated to making improvements for generations to come. And when it comes to business, there’s an “importance in being authentic” to Mayor Smyth, both personally and professionally.
Currently, Mayor Smyth is focused on two issue: the community’s responses to COVID-19, including but not limited to the economy – as well as highlighting the importance of cultural diversity in the city. Firstly, it has been a priority of many council members to accommodate our local businesses in order to keep them open and able to serve during the pandemic, as well as to allow residents to continue to shop and support restaurants and storefronts in a safe way.
There have been many peaceful protests, sit-ins, and communal discussions in this time surrounding racial disparities and sexual misconduct experienced throughout the city; Mayor Smyth is determined to respond in a way that evokes change. He and the Hart District are currently reactivating the Human Relations Task Force for our local students, to fight racism/prejudice and to foster education on the subjects.
Mayor Smyth has been involved in government service for two decades, but if he could be in another profession, he would be a sports team coach: “I enjoy being around young people and their energy,” he says. ‘Weather man’ was another profession he saw himself in before committing to politics. He has been married for 21 years and has three children who all attend the local schools just as he did. The Smyth family enjoys travelling near and far, and during the pandemic are especially grateful for the variety of road trip destinations in California. Just as our state is diverse in its scenery, Mayor Smyth says, “diversity makes us a stronger community.”

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