Fillmore City Council Member Luis Rodriguez

Council Member Luis Rodriguez has announced his resignation from Fillmore City Council, effective October 13, 2025. State code states the Council must fill the position either by calling a special election or appointment within 60 days of a vacancy. With this vacancy occurring in the first half of Rodriguez’ term the appointment will only last through the first half. The second half of the term will be decided by voters at the city’s regular general election in November 2026. Council members have until December 13th to decide how to fill the vacancy.

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Courtesy Luis Alberto Rodriguez

“My name is Luis Alberto Rodriguez; I am 37 years old, and I have lived in Fillmore my whole life. I graduated from Fillmore High School in 2006 and majored in Fine Arts at Ventura College. I am a local artist and work as an E-Commerce Specialist. I have produced art professionally for Fillmore residents since I was 17 years old. I have also done murals in Fillmore and Piru; notably all the exterior walls at Francisco’s Fruit Stand and an outdoor mural at San Salvador Mission in Piru.

I ran for Fillmore City Council to serve my city. I have lived in North Fillmore (District 1) for most of my life and I wanted to bring attention to that community. While being a resident of North Fillmore, I’d like to think that I represented the rest of Fillmore faithfully and was pragmatic in my decision making.

I learned a lot during my short tenure as a council member. There are a lot of moving parts in an organization like the City of Fillmore. All of the executive staff are diligent, accommodating and transparent in presenting their findings and giving recommendations to the Council. I saw first-hand how the community members are always heard, and their suggestions are always taken into consideration.

I believe that the United States of America is a beautiful country filled with opportunities. I am moving to Idaho in a few weeks to continue my career as an E-Commerce Specialist with UncleStraps.com, a watch bracelet and accessory brand that serves watch enthusiasts internationally. Although I am moving to another state, Fillmore is a city that I will always be connected to and will always return to visit.

Now that school has resumed, we notice more children enjoying the outdoors by riding their bikes, scooters, and skateboards. The Fillmore Police Department carried out a bicycle safety operation aimed at reaching out to young riders to share safety tips and teach better riding practices.

During the operation, 15 juveniles were contacted riding bicycles without helmets. Per California Vehicle Code 21212(a), persons under 18 years old are required to wear a properly fitted and fastened bicycle helmet. Nine of the juveniles contacted did not own properly fitted bicycle helmets. The deputies provided the juveniles with helmets that were generously donated to the station.

The Fillmore Police Department remains committed to protecting our community’s youth and urges all parents, guardians, and young cyclists to prioritize helmet use when cycling. By following this law, we can work together to prevent injuries and create a safer environment for everyone.

Additionally, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office/Fillmore Police Department would like to offer the following tips to help reduce the risk of collisions and improve safety in our community:
Pedestrians

• Be predictable. Use crosswalks when available.

• Take notice of approaching vehicles and practice due care.

• Do not walk or run into a vehicle’s path. At 30 mph, a driver needs at least 90 feet to stop.

• Be visible. Make it easy for drivers to see you – wear light colors, reflective material, and carry a flashlight, particularly at dawn, dusk, or at night.

• Be extra careful crossing streets or entering crosswalks at night when it is harder to see, or when crossing busier streets with more lanes and higher speed limits.
Drivers

• Follow the speed limit and slow down at intersections. Be prepared to stop for pedestrians at marked and unmarked crosswalks.

• Avoid blocking crosswalks while waiting to make a right-hand turn.

• Never drive impaired.
Bicyclists

• Obey traffic laws, use hand signals, use lights at night (front white light and rear red reflector), and wear a helmet.

• Bicyclists must travel in the same direction as traffic and have the same requirements as any slow-moving vehicle.

• Stay clear of the door zone: avoid riding too close to parked cars.

• If there’s a bike lane, use it, unless making a left turn, passing, or approaching a place where a right turn is allowed.

• Yield to pedestrians. Bicyclists must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians within marked crosswalks or within unmarked crosswalks at intersections.
Funding for this operation was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National
Highway Safety Administration.

Prepared by: Sergeant Corey Stump

News Release Date: September 26, 2025

Approved by: Captain Eduardo Malagon

After 27 years of exemplary service with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office and dedicated service to residents of Ventura County, Sergeant Will Hollowell worked his last shift Wednesday, September 24th, 2025.

Sergeant Hollowell worked a short stint as a Sheriff’s Service Technician, before graduating from the Sheriff’s Academy in 1998. Over the course of his law enforcement career, Sergeant Hollowell worked a variety of assignments in both custody and patrol. Sergeant Hollowell was a resident deputy in Lockwood Valley, and worked assignments in the Civil Unit, Ojai Detectives, Camarillo Special Enforcement Unit, Fillmore Administration, and Fillmore patrol supervisor.

Sergeant Hollowell was a dedicated member of the Sheriff’s Office and spent the last four years serving the Fillmore community. Yesterday, the Fillmore station held a going away luncheon to send Sergeant Hollowell off into retirement.

Sergeant Hollowell, thank you for your dedicated service to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. Enjoy your retirement!

Fillmore Resident Laura McDowell
Enlarge Photo

Fillmore resident Laura McDowell began her career back in 1991 at the Fillmore Office Post as a part time rural carrier, and
the next thing you know she had learned every operation, including management. From that point on she would be sent out on
detailed assignments as a supervisor to various offices such as Northridge, North Hills, and Simi Valley. This experience
allowed Laura to develop and fine tune her style.

Eventually, she became Postmaster of the Santa Paula Post Office where she was often sent out to become Officer-in-Charge of
surrounding cities. She oversaw Ventura, Simi Valley, and Oxnard Post Offices.

After a 10-year stint in Santa Paula, she made the decision back in 2023, to return to the Fillmore office, a full circle
from where it all began. She took on the position of Postmaster of Fillmore as she knew that she would soon be retiring. It
was her mission to clean-up and organize the office before she retired, and she feels as though she has done just that.

Laura grew up in Fillmore and was very involved in her school. And as her children grew, she and her husband Kirk always
participated with youth sports in the community.

Laura is known by many in Fillmore for her passion, teaching all ages to swim. She has spent the last 38 years providing
lessons, affecting multiply generations. The post office can be very demanding, and Laura will tell you that there is no
better remedy to offset a tough workload than to watch someone conquer their water fears.

With retirement will come with great ambitions of home improvements, travel, rest, relaxation, and, of course, she will
continue offering her swim lessons.

The post office has been very good to Laura. She has seen many changes and wants to let everyone know that the job is not
easy and the employees here in Fillmore give it all they’ve got. She will miss the crew and wishes them the best in their
postal careers.