Champions of Cityhood Say Mailings of Foes Backfired

A last-minute deluge of anti-cityhood mailings by developer-backed groups backfired and caused voters to turn out in larger-than-expected numbers to cast ballots for the new City of Santa Clarita, cityhood proponents said Wednesday.

“I think the people were just fed up with outside money being spent against them,” said Howard P. (Buck) McKeon, the top vote-getter among a field of 25 City Council candidates on Tuesday’s ballot. “It just made them mad.”

“I think the developers might have won this for us,” said Carl Boyer III, who was also elected to the five-member council. “They forced the people to think about cityhood.”

69% Favor Cityhood

Voters in the 40-square-mile area approved the new city by more than 2 to 1--14,416 to 6,474--giving the cityhood measure 69% of the votes cast. Santa Clarita includes the communities of Newhall, Saugus, Valencia and most of Canyon Country.

Voter turnout in Santa Clarita was about 45%, contrasted with the Los Angeles County average of less than 15%.

McKeon, 45, a clothing-store owner; Jan Heidt, 48, a community activist and bookstore owner; JoAnne Darcy, 56, County Supervisor Mike Antonovich’s field deputy; Boyer, 49, a San Fernando High School government teacher, and Dennis M. Koontz, 47, a retired Los Angeles City Fire Department captain, were elected to the council.

In a related ballot measure, voters decided that they want future council members to be elected at-large, as they were Tuesday. Boyer and Koontz, who received fewer votes than the other council members, will face reelection in two years, whereas McKeon, Heidt and Darcy will serve four-year terms.

Council members will be sworn in at the first meeting after election results are certified in early December.

The large voter turnout and widespread breakdowns in voting equipment caused election results to come in slowly. Hundreds of cheering residents who attended a cityhood victory party went home at 1:30 or 2 a.m. Wednesday without learning the election totals.

Marcia Ventura, a spokeswoman for the county registrar-recorders’ office, said some polling places remained open after 8 p.m. because long lines of voters were still waiting to cast their ballots. Reports that officials at the 38 precincts in the area had taken ballots home with them, causing the late tally, were unfounded, Ventura said.

Voters Aroused

Cityhood proponents said the developers’ anti-incorporation campaign was responsible for the large number of votes cast. City of Santa Clarita Formation Committee member Jill Klajic said that, until the mailers started arriving at residents’ homes two weeks ago, “our biggest enemy was voter apathy. Then, people got excited. They even started coming in off the streets to give us money.”

Koontz agreed. “I noticed a change in my precinct after the mailers started coming,” he said. “People started to realize they were being railroaded. Before that, there was a lot of apathy. Nobody was really interested in cityhood.”

“The developers’ overkill alienated our citizens and ensured a victory for us,” said Art Donnelly, formation committee chairman.

Reactions of the five new council members to the developers’ campaign were mixed.

“I will treat them fairly, as I will treat any individual,” Darcy said when asked if the anti-cityhood drive would influence her vote on the City Council.

Quality Development

“Intellectually, I have to say no,” Boyer said in answer to the same question, “but, as a practical matter, yes. Now, you’re going to see quality development like you’ve never seen it before.”

Both McKeon and Koontz said they will judge each proposed development on its merits.

“I’m not going to paint them all with the same brush like they did the candidates,” said Koontz, referring to a flyer that listed the names of 24 candidates and implied that one of them was a convicted sex offender.

“They took some cheap shots and they insulted the intelligence of this community,” Heidt said. “It’s going to be a while before I forget. They’re going to have to earn their way back into my good graces.”

Representatives of the Santa Clarita Caution Committee and the Coalition for the Right City, the two developer-backed groups, were unavailable for comment Wednesday.

However, Richard Wirth, spokesman for the Building Industry Assn. of Southern California, congratulated proponents of cityhood on their victory. He said his organization was not behind the anti-cityhood effort, although individual developers who belong to the group might have been.

As their first action as council members-elect, Heidt and Boyer appeared before the county’s Regional Planning Commission on Wednesday to request that action be delayed on an agreement with builder Jack Shine on a 5,400-unit development outside the city’s boundaries in Canyon Country. The commission continued a public hearing on the matter until Dec. 13.

“We’ve asked that the city have some input and the commission agreed,” Heidt said. “This shows that what we’ve been saying all along is true. This city will have influence on developments outside its borders.”

Koontz added that, if the city would have had no control on issues outside its borders, developers wouldn’t have waged their intense campaign against it. “If we’re not going to have some control outside the city, why should they care?” he said.

Shine said he is willing to meet with residents of the new city at any time about their concerns that the development will cause traffic congestion, water shortages and school crowding. “If there’s only enough water for 3,000 units, we’ll stop there,” he said.

Other developers, including Tom Lee of Newhall Land & Farming Co. and Dan Palmer of Palmer Brothers Construction, have met with individual council members.

Wednesday morning, Heidt, Boyer, Koontz and McKeon also met with Ruth Benell, executive director of the Local Agency Formation Commission. Benell will assist them in setting up the new city.

“The first thing we’re going to have to do is hire a secretary and an interim city manager,” Koontz said.

SANTA CLARITA’S NEW CITY COUNCIL

Howard P. (Buck) Mckeon-45, Canyon Country resident.

President of Howard and Phil’s Western Wear. Won 9,657 votes, or 12.0%.

Jan Heidt-48, Canyon Country resident.

Owner of One for the Books bookstore. Won 8,198 votes, or 10.2%.

JoAnne Darcy-56, Saugus resident.

Field Deputy for Supervisor Michael Antonovich. Won 7,441 votes, or 9.3%.

Carl Boyer III-49, Newhall resident.

San Fernando High School government teacher. Won 6,430 votes, or 8.0%.

Dennis M. Koontz-47, Saugus resident.

Retired fire captain. Won 6,052 votes, or 7.5%.

Santa Clarita

38 of 38 precincts

Ballot Measures

U--Shall the incorporation of Santa Clarita be approved?

Vote % Yes 14,416 69.0 No 6,474 31.0

V--Shall the City Council be elected by district or at large?

Vote % By District 7,732 41.5 At Large 10,919 58.5

City Council

Five will be elected if the above incorporation measure is approved.

Vote % Howard P. McKeon 9,657 12.0 Jan Heidt 8,198 10.2 Jo Anne Darcy 7,441 9.3 Carl Boyer III 6,430 8.0 Dennis M. Koontz 6,052 7.5 Richard M. Vacar 5,817 7.3 Linda Hovis Storli 5,425 6.8 Louis E. Brathwaite 3,345 4.2 Michael D. Lyons 3,043 3.8 Bill Hilton 2,323 2.9 Andy Martin 2,161 2.7 Robert Silverstein 2,083 2.6 Maurice D. Ungar 1,965 2.4 Roger A. Meurer 1,928 2.4 H. G. Callowhill 1,775 2.2 Gail Klein 1,732 2.2 Donald Benton 1,654 2.1 William J. Broyles 1,322 1.6 Monty Harrell 1,279 1.6 Kenneth Dean 1,276 1.6 Vernon H. Pera 1,111 1.4 J. D. Christensen 957 1.2 Edmond G. Stevens 919 1.1 Ronald J. Nolan 831 1.0 Dennis Conn 771 1.0 Frank A. Parkhurst 710 0.9

COMPARING CITIES

10 Largest Cities by Population

July 1987

Los Angeles 3,215,500 Long Beach 384,485 Glendale 147,851 Torrance 131,207 Pasadena 130,074 Pomona 112,044 Santa Clarita 110,000 Inglewood 102,339 Santa Monica 93,554 El Monte 91,193

10 Largest Cities by Estimated Square Miles

July 1987

Los Angeles 467.2 Palmdale 61.65 Lancaster 55.69 Long Beach 49.72 Santa Clarita 40.00 Glendale 30.48 Pasadena 23.14 Pomona 22.97 Torrance 19.93 Carson 19.24

Source: Population Research Section, Los Angeles County Hall of Records.