Apparent winners emerge in Simi park, school board races

Simi Valley voters have weighed in on contested races for the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District and the Simi Valley Unified School District, and apparent winners have emerged with comfortable leads in the latest ballot counts, the Simi Valley Acorn reported.

The results, current as of noon on Nov. 5 according to the Acorn, remain unofficial. The Ventura County Elections Division will continue posting updated counts throughout the month as late-arriving mail ballots, provisional ballots and ballots needing signature verification are processed. Residents can track the running totals at vote.venturacounty.gov.

Here's where the races stood before press time.

Smollen takes the lead for park board Division 2

In the race for the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District's Division 2 seat, Dawn Smollen held a sizable lead over challenger Mary Northrup, with 3,320 votes to Northrup's 2,452. The 5,772 votes cast in the contest gave Smollen roughly a 15-percentage-point advantage, the Acorn reported.

Division 2 covers northeastern Simi Valley, including the Rancho Santa Susana Knolls area. The seat is currently held by Ed Abele, who did not seek reelection.

Smollen is a familiar figure in local governance: she currently serves on the Simi Valley Unified School District board but has reached the maximum number of terms allowed there, making the park district seat a natural next step for a longtime public servant.

A Simi Valley resident for 30 years, Smollen said her family's deep connection to local parks motivated her candidacy. Her three children participated in recreation programs over the years and raced at the Sycamore BMX track, and she now enjoys the district's parks and trails with her grandchildren.

"I got into this race for the same reason I've spent so many years serving our community," Smollen said online on Election Day, according to the Acorn. "I love Simi Valley and I truly believe public service is a responsibility, not just a title."

The Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District is one of the region's major park agencies, operating dozens of parks, trails, recreation centers and programs across Simi Valley and neighboring communities. Board members set policy, oversee the district's budget and shape how recreational services and open space are maintained and expanded.

Pietrolungo leads in Area 4

Two seats on the Simi Valley Unified school board were also on the ballot, with both apparent winners holding double-digit leads.

In Area 4, Stephen Pietrolungo led James Greenfield with 2,990 votes — approximately 56% of the total — to Greenfield's 2,328 votes, or 44%, the Acorn reported.

Pietrolungo, known as "Dr. P" to many former colleagues and students, was appointed to the school board in August 2025 and was running to retain the seat. His career in education spans five decades: he spent years as an agriculture teacher before moving into administration, serving nearly 30 years as a district administrator. That administrative career included stints as principal of Simi Valley High School, Hillside Middle School and Monte Vista School, giving him long institutional knowledge of the district he now helps govern.

Rosuck ahead in Area 5

In Area 5, Ryan Rosuck held a similar advantage over Jodi Lewis, receiving 3,006 votes, or 57%, to Lewis's 2,293 votes, or 43%.

Rosuck brings 22 years of experience in education, including 20 years in the classroom, according to the Acorn. She began her career with Simi Valley Unified at Sinaloa Middle School and later taught literature and composition at Simi Valley High School. A product of Simi Valley schools herself, Rosuck now has a child enrolled in the district — a combination of personal and professional stakes that resonated with voters in the area.

If her lead holds, Rosuck would join a board overseeing one of Ventura County's larger school districts, responsible for setting educational policy, approving budgets and hiring and evaluating the superintendent amid ongoing conversations about enrollment, facilities and student achievement.

What comes next

While the margins in all three races are substantial, the results are not final. California elections routinely see vote counts shift in the days after Election Day as mail ballots postmarked by the deadline arrive and are tallied. The Ventura County Elections Division will continue to post count updates throughout the month, and results are not certified until the official canvass is complete.

That said, leads of the size held by Smollen, Pietrolungo and Rosuck are rarely overturned by late-arriving ballots, and all three appear positioned to take office once results are certified.

For Simi Valley residents, the outcomes will shape two institutions that touch daily life in the city: the park district that maintains the trails, fields and rec programs families use every week, and the school board that governs the education of the community's children. With Smollen — a termed-out school board member — moving over to the park district, and two education veterans in Pietrolungo and Rosuck solidifying their positions, voters appear to have chosen experience and continuity across both agencies.

The Acorn's report included contributions from reporter Michele Willer-Allred.