City Named Sunset’s Best Community

Sunset magazine, which annually rates the West’s top cities, named Fillmore as the Best Community in the West in its December issue.

“It’s truly an honor,” Mayor Evaristo Barajas said. “I always hear people say coming here is like a trip back into time because of the atmosphere and the way everyone treats each other here.”

The magazine said its decision was based in part on the quick recovery of the city’s historic downtown area after the 1994 Northridge earthquake, a revival that came about through “intense community involvement.”

“We seem to really come together, especially when there is a need,” Barajas said.

The Sunset article recognizes cities in the categories of Best Community, Best Arts, Best Preservation, Best Waterfront and Best Transportation.

Also recognized were Portland, Ore.; Spokane, Wash.; Santa Barbara; San Luis Obispo; and Boulder, Colo.

The publishers wrote that “over the last year, writers and editors searched for communities doing outstanding work at meeting the challenges offered by urban life at the start of the 21st century.”

The magazine concentrated on issues of particular interest to its readers: dealing with commutes, reviving downtowns and main streets, preserving open space and creating the “vital quality of a sense of community.”

“We are the last, best small town in Southern California,” Barajas said, echoing the city’s theme.