Teachers’ Candidate Wins in Newhall District : Santa Clarita Valley: Victories by challengers in six elections is a sign that the public wants change, the top vote-getter says.

Six challengers defeated incumbents in four Santa Clarita Valley area elementary school districts in Tuesday’s election while a candidate backed by teachers won a board seat in the Newhall School District, where contract talks are at an impasse.

“The days of incumbents sitting back and taking reelection for granted are over,” said Michael McCabe, who led a field of six candidates for three seats on the Newhall district board.

McCabe, the teacher-backed candidate, said Wednesday that challengers emerged as the leading vote-getters in all six area school board races because the public wanted change and was sending a message to school officials.

In all, 42 candidates ran for 20 seats on six elementary district boards and in the community college district.

Judith Butler, president of the Newhall Teachers Assn., said teachers encouraged McCabe to run and are ecstatic that he won. “We were looking for changes, and they’ve occurred,” she said.

Butler said teachers do not expect McCabe to always take their side of issues, only “to be more understanding.”

McCabe, a labor relations administrator, said the teachers’ support played an important role in his victory. He said his victory means that parents and the community agree with teachers.

Contract talks are stalled over differing schedules for a year-round calendar, Butler said. Teachers and administrators will meet with a state mediator later this month in an attempt to resolve their differences, she said.

McCabe, who got 3,865 votes; Zandra B. Stanley, a homemaker, with 2,176 votes, and incumbent Patricia M. Willet, who received 2,103 votes, won the three seats on the Newhall board. Other candidates and the number of votes they received were incumbent Howard L. Hill, 2,029; incumbent Charles E. Payne, 1,934, and Leon Worden, a marketing and political researcher, 1,636.

In the Saugus Union Elementary School District, Eileen Connolly, a self-described “concerned parent,” topped a field of six candidates for three seats with 3,651 votes. Incumbents Marilynn Blaylock and Betty L. Lund were reelected with 2,908 and 2,604 votes, respectively. Other candidates and their vote totals were Antonio M. Martino, an engineer, 2,408; incumbent Michael E. Rayfield, 2,195, and Ralph Wilkin, a Pacific Bell manager, 2,289.

Incumbent David Worthington, with 373 votes, came in last among four candidates in the Castaic Union School District. The winners and the number of votes they received were Jane Pederson, a community volunteer and former PTA president, 471; incumbent Irene Massey, 406, and incumbent Gloria E. Mercado, 393.

In the Sulphur Springs School District, incumbents Art Wilde and Scott Seamons were reelected with 1,685 and 1,665 votes, respectively. Kerry Clegg, a research biologist at Cal State Northridge, won a vacant seat on the board with 1,793 votes. Other candidates and their vote totals were L. Rob Werner, an attorney, 983, and Bill Rattazzi, president of a building company, 860.

Only one incumbent, Nancy Kelso, sought reelection in the Soledad-Agua Dulce School District. She won reelection with 220 votes. Other winners were Laurie Browning, a volunteer elementary school aide, 307 votes, and Ronnie D. Garner, a police captain, 195 votes. Other candidates and the number of votes they received were Jo Ann Baker, public speaker and writer, 181; Rebecca Ann Small, a family coordinator, 175; Mark S. Samskar, an electronics technician, 156, and Timothy R. Smallen, a businessman, 81.

In the Hughes-Elizabeth Lakes Union School District, incumbents Bryant Swenson and Richard Lewis were defeated, getting 148 and 130 votes, respectively. The winners and their vote tallies were Robert Janssen, a mangement consultant, 234; Sue Page, a teacher, 230, and Lola Mantooth, an appointed incumbent, 210. Other candidates were Wayne Prindle, no occupation listed, 101 votes, and Steve Nemback, a water plant operator, 84 votes.

Ernest H. Moreno, a college administrator who received 5,469 votes, defeated appointed incumbent John Hoskinson, who got 3,924 votes, for Office No. 1 in the Santa Clarita Community College District. Andrew Martin, a rancher and insurance agent, and Nancy Neff, a business administrator, received 3,647 and 2,754 votes, respectively.

In the college district’s Office No. 3, incumbent Linda C. Cubbage topped two challengers with 6,978 votes. Other candidates and their vote totals were Dan Brown, a college coach and businessman, 3,623, and Donald R. Gaskin, an adult education administrator, 4,562.