Note: Cameron Smyth will be termed out of the Assembly following the November 2012 election.

Nearly 50 years ago, Patricia McKeon and her husband Buck settled in our community – 6 children and 31 grandchildren later they still proudly call it home. It’s a challenge to be the spouse of an elected representative, but in her own way, Patricia has helped make this community a better place to live and raise a family.

Through her quiet and compassionate manner, Patricia serves as testament that leadership isn’t a plaque on the wall or a photo with other leaders; it’s what makes our community great.

Patricia’s role as a full time mother lead to her work with the Boy Scouts, her church, Pop Warner Football, school booster clubs, and her neighbors. That work rarely makes news but its impact surely helped preserve our unique way of life.

Whether you look at her service as President of her local PTA, a member of the Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital Board of Directors, as former Vice President of the Republican Women’s Federated, or as a volunteer for the Los Angeles County election board, it’s clear Patricia McKeon’s leadership style will serve us well in Sacramento.

Appointed by the Board of Directors of HMNMH in 1990, Patricia set out to preserve and strengthen the healthcare our local hospital delivers. As Chair of the Patient Care Committee, Patricia oversaw the effort to preserve the doctor patient relationship while keeping the promise to provide the quality care patients deserved.

As President of the local PTA, Patricia was a voice that encouraged parents and teachers to work together to ensure our children received the education they deserve. Still today, Patricia remains convinced that only through fundamental reform will our schools return to the greatness they once were.

Every single one of Patricia’s sons attained the rank of Eagle Scout, no small feat, and over the years she has helped the local Boy Scout Council thrive. To that end, the Boy Scout Council recognized her with the prestigious ‘Leaders of Character’ award for her work on behalf of the scouts and the young men whose lives it shapes.

There was a time when people viewed opening their homes as a polling location for the Los Angeles County Board of Elections as an honor, and Patricia McKeon’s was one of those who accepted the challenge. By training election volunteers in areas of ballot integrity and security, Patricia’s first hand witness to democracy in action sparked a passion for civic involvement that remains with her to this day.

Patricia McKeon’s record of service may not be typical for a candidate to the State Assembly. Yet we need only look at the mess in Sacramento today, to see the damage done by typical candidates. It’s time for a change in Sacramento and Patricia McKeon may be just what our community needs to make our voices heard in the Capitol. Balancing her volunteer service as well as meeting the demands of a large family, watching over the family’s finances and insuring a balanced budget, it’s clear that Patricia McKeon’s background and experience make her uniquely qualified to serve as our voice in Sacramento.

Together with her husband Buck, Patricia reared their children; Tamara McKeon Morrison, Howard D. McKeon, John M. McKeon, Kimberly McKeon Kosorok, David O. McKeon and Tricia McKeon Logan. Patricia and Buck reside in Santa Clarita.