Update on the City of Simi Valley

Mayor Dee Dee Cavanaugh was first elected to the City Council in 2016 and re-elected in 2020 and 2024. She served a one-year term as Mayor Pro Tem in both 2019 and 2021, and is currently serving as Mayor after her appointment by the City Council on January 27, 2025.

Prior to her election, Mayor Cavanaugh served as a member of the Board of Directors for Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District (March 2010 through November 2016), and served as a member of both the Small Business Advisory Committee and the Tree Advisory Committee for the City of Simi Valley.

Mayor Cavanaugh is currently the Vice Chairperson of the Ventura County Animal Services Commission and the past Chairperson of the Economic Development Collaboration of Ventura County.  Both entities are integral to Ventura County's quality of life and business community engagement.   

Mayor Cavanaugh works for Banc of California as the Central Coast and Central Valley branches' Senior Vice President, Regional Administrator.  Prior to joining Banc of California, formerly Pacific Western Bank, Mayor Cavanaugh most recently worked for First California Bank as a regional and branch manager of their Simi Valley Office.  Mayor Cavanaugh has worked in the banking industry since 1984, and has been exposed to bank deregulation, FDIC closures, mergers and acquisitions, as well as the very-changing world of technology in the financial industry.

Mayor Cavanaugh has been a member of the Rotary Club of Simi Valley since 1996 and was the first woman president of that club in 2000-2001.  She served as president of the Simi Valley Hospital Foundation from 2014-2015 and as a member of the hospital's Governing Board from 2015-2019.  Mayor Cavanaugh is also a past president and 20-year board member of the Simi Valley Police Foundation.

Mayor Cavanaugh’s community involvement also includes past service on the boards of Simi Valley Girls Softball, the Boys and Girls Club of Simi Valley, and the Samaritan Center. She is a Simi Valley CERT graduate as well as a graduate of the Chamber of Commerce Leadership Simi Valley Class of 2005.

Mayor Cavanaugh has been honored as the 2008 Chamber of Commerce Person of the Year; the 2010 Woman of Distinction Award by the Gold Coast Girl Scout Council, and the 2015 Simi Valley Humanitarian Award.

Mayor Cavanaugh grew up in Simi Valley with her two sisters and is a 1977 Graduate of Royal High School.  She raised her daughter, Anna, here, and with the addition of 3 grandchildren, she is fortunate to now have four generations living here in Simi Valley.