Eleven Candidates Are Coming to Simi Valley Friday Night. The Incumbent Will Be in Washington.
(CLAIR | Simi Valley, CA) — Eleven candidates. One stage. Two and a half hours of unscripted questions. Friday night at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center, the people asking to represent this part of California will stand in front of the voters they want to represent — and answer for themselves.
The Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce 2026 Primary Candidate Forum is set for Friday, May 15. The meet and greet starts at 5:00 PM. The forum itself begins at 6:00. It is free. No registration. 3050 E Los Angeles Avenue. Cal Lutheran professor emeritus Herbert Gooch moderates, and the Chamber collected questions from its members in advance. Three races are on the program: U.S. Congress, State Assembly, and the Ventura County Board of Supervisors seat that covers Simi Valley and Moorpark.
The U.S. Congress race is the headliner. Brad Sherman has held California's 32nd Congressional District for 30 years and participated in more than 250 town halls. Friday night he'll be in Washington — the House of Representatives is in session this week. The Chamber confirmed the conflict was a scheduling matter caught after the venue was already booked. Nine challengers filed against him this year, according to Ballotpedia. Seven of them will be in Simi Valley on Friday.
The challengers don't agree on much, but they're all saying the same thing about Sherman: show up. Jake Levine, a former senior climate adviser in the Biden White House and the son of former Congressman Mel Levine, launched his bid with a video saying leaders need to "show up, get things done and fight for a better life here in LA." Jewish Insider reported he raised $250,000 in his first 24 hours and refused corporate PAC money — a direct contrast with Sherman, who entered the race sitting on $4 million. Political analyst Dan Schnur told the same outlet that Sherman is "exactly the type of incumbent that's vulnerable to a generational challenge."
The rest of the lineup is just as loaded. Christopher Ahuja, an actor who ran here in 2024, is back. So is Larry Thompson, the Republican Sherman beat last cycle. Then come the newcomers — Dory Benami, Anna Wilding, Marena Lin, Josh Sautter — running on a map that didn't exist six months ago. California voters approved Proposition 50 in November, redrawing the district to favor Democrats. Sherman won his last election on a different map. Friday is the only time in this campaign cycle most voters will get to see all of them in the same place, taking the same questions.
The State Assembly race carries its own intrigue. Ted Nordblum, a Newbury Park business owner who lost to Jacqui Irwin in 2024, is running for the open 42nd District seat. Standing next to him will be Rocky Rhodes — the Simi Valley councilmember who endorsed Nordblum two years ago and is now running against him. The Ballot Book called Rhodes the variable that could split the Simi Valley Republican base and cost Nordblum a top-two finish. They'll share a stage Friday for the first time. The handshake will be worth watching.
The Ventura County Supervisor race is the quietest fight on the card and may be the most consequential. Incumbent Janice Parvin, who spent 14 years as mayor of Moorpark before winning the seat in 2022, faces former Simi Valley councilmember Ruth Luevanos. As the Acorn reported, only two candidates filed. If either clears 50 percent on June 2, the race ends there — no runoff, no November rematch. Whoever wins decides how the county handles fire response, mental health services, and the cost of living in Simi Valley, Moorpark, and everywhere between. Friday is the one chance to hear them go at it before ballots are due.
Bring questions. Bring neighbors. Friday, May 15. Meet and greet at 5:00 PM. Forum at 6:00. Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center, 3050 E Los Angeles Avenue.
Friday is where this primary actually happens. Everything after that is mailers.