Sylvia Will Run for Sixth Council Term

Charles E. Sylvia, who has served on the City Council since 1975, said this week that he will run in November for a sixth term.

“I feel that I can do a good job representing the people because I’m so involved with the community,” said Sylvia, 62, who volunteers as an umpire, manager and board member for Los Alamitos Pony Baseball League.

An electrical engineer, Sylvia was first elected to fill one of the vacancies created by an October 1974 recall of two council members. Voters have kept him in office for consecutive terms since then.

When he joined the council, Sylvia said, the city had no parks, and zoning regulations prohibited restaurants along Katella Avenue, a major thoroughfare. Los Alamitos now has three parks, he said, and Katella Avenue was rezoned to allow eating establishments.

“What I want to do now is get the city a stronger financial base with economic redevelopment,” Sylvia said. “We need to work closer with the businesses.”