A career built on service, media, and small business
“I understand hard work and what’s involved with running a business, because I’ve spent most of my life in the private sector. One only succeeds by providing quality service.”
— Gary Janek Michaels
My background lets me identify and empathize with people navigating unexpected circumstances, because I work in a similar environment every day. That perspective — and a career at the convergence of media, data, and small business — is what I bring to District 1.
I know what it takes to build something that works
E-rate Compass
A full-service E-rate consulting agency helping schools and libraries with their E-rate applications since 2017 — from the earliest stages of the process through the Funding Commitment Decision Letter (FCDL), all the way to getting E-rate funds deposited into the school’s account.
eratecompass.com →I moved to Santa Maria in 2005, and bought my home here in 2013 to bring my parents out to live with me and take care of them. I’m active in Central Coast charitable and community events — I’ve served on the Santa Maria Bonita School District’s Measure “T” Citizens Bond Oversight Committee and on my homeowners association board. Outside of work, I enjoy sailboat racing, scuba diving, travel, and fitness.
A career at the convergence of media and data
The convergence of media and data is how I began my career — in the broadcasting and cable industry — before moving into the data communications industry. In 1984 I moved to Los Angeles, CA to begin a regional career in broadcast and cable, working in news, creative marketing, and television production at properties including:
Comcast Cable · 2005
I began my second career launching the information superhighway, upgrading fiber data networks with Comcast Cable in Santa Maria as a project manager and commercial marketing professional. I managed the City of Santa Maria and Santa Barbara County Comcast Cable franchise contracts, and led high-capacity fiber ethernet launches at the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District, the Orcutt and Lompoc Unified School Districts, Marian Regional Medical Center, and hotels across the valley including the Santa Maria Inn, the Santa Maria Radisson, and the Chumash Casino Resort.
Statewide & Bay Area
That career move took me across the state in a range of corporate roles. I later relocated to the Bay Area with Comcast to work in the advanced voice products division, then worked with Time Warner Cable's Government, Medical and Education division throughout Southern California, including the Coachella Valley.
The stage
I started performing at age 16 in Chicago community theaters and at Polish museums and cultural landmarks, in dinner theater musicals like The Sound of Music and Cabaret. I later studied at New England College in Arundel, Sussex, England, performing dramatic roles — from John Brown in John Brown's Body, to The King in William Saroyan's The Cave Dwellers, to John the Witch Boy in Howard Richardson's Dark of the Moon.
Education
Though I started as a theater arts student in England, I changed majors and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration, focused in Finance, from New England College in Henniker, NH. While there I worked on the Ronald Reagan presidential campaign, represented the school at the Harvard Model UN, and served as president of the college senate. I later received an Academic Certificate in Accounting from UCLA.
Fiscally conservative, always accountable
“I’m a fiscal conservative because government should be limited and spending as low as possible — while always finding the best value for the taxpayer. I’ll tie accountability to every funding initiative, and I won’t shift costs onto my constituents.”
Every dollar goes to the fight for the Gateway District
This is a locally funded, July-to-November push. Your contribution pays for the media, outreach, and the case for immediate action.
Contributions are not tax-deductible. Paid for by Gary Janek Michaels for City Council 2026 · FPPC ID #_______
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