Council Race, $47-Million Bond Measure Top Lancaster Ballot : Election: Growth and crime are key issues as one incumbent and 15 other candidates vie for three City Council seats in the April 10 vote.

The crowded campaign for three Lancaster City Council seats enters the final stretch this week, with candidates focusing on management of the city’s rapid growth, reduction of conflict on the City Council and the fight against crime.

The decision by two incumbents--Mayor Lynn Harrison and Councilman Els Groves--not to seek reelection left a wide-open race for two of the three council seats on the April 10 ballot, while incumbent Arnie Rodio is campaigning for reelection to the third seat, which he has held since 1986. There are 16 candidates for the seats, many of whom are well-known in the community.

Many candidates concur on how to address the basic challenges confronting Lancaster, a city whose population jumped by nearly 10,000 to an estimated 90,000 residents in the last year alone. They call for the creation of more jobs to reduce the number of residents who must commute to jobs “down below,” the term residents use to describe areas of Los Angeles County south of the Antelope Valley. An estimated 40,000 area residents are commuters.

Crime, particularly gang and drug activity, has been an increasingly high-profile issue in the Antelope Valley as urbanization alarms residents who once considered the city an exurban refuge, and anti-crime measures have been a familiar refrain among the candidates.

In addition to conflict on the streets, conflict in the City Council chambers has been a campaign topic. There have been occasional bitter political and personal confrontations among council members, and candidates have called for an end to the acrimony.

Although many candidates say the Antelope Valley’s population and construction boom has strained roads, the water supply, schools and other infrastructure, only a few describe themselves as favoring slow growth. Instead, the majority stress the importance of managing growth.

Among the latter is Jack Abney, 63, who wants to retain a “country atmosphere” in Lancaster. Abney works as a property manager for a real estate firm. He has stressed the importance of protecting Edwards Air Force Base and Air Force Plant 42, two of the region’s biggest employers, from urban encroachment. He also called for a program to attract clean industry to the city.

Sandra Bateman, 42, is another advocate of “planned growth.” She runs a financial planning business and calls for council members to stop fighting. Reducing the commuter population will have a positive impact on youth-related problems such as gangs, Bateman said, because parents will be closer to their children.

Carl (Duke) Bloom, 59, said that Lancaster is “the last frontier” for young home buyers, and that new development will bring schools and parks paid for by developers. Bloom, who owns an appliance store, said he wants to preserve the competitiveness of small businesses as big commercial centers proliferate.

The Rev. Henry (Hank) Hearns, 56, was chief environmental engineer at Edwards Air Force Base until his retirement in December. He serves as pastor of the First Missionary Baptist Church in Littlerock.

Martha Hughes, an insurance agent, said she wants the city to televise City Council meetings on local cable channels to increase awareness of government business among residents. She described herself as an advocate of controlled growth and said more must be done to combat gang members.

Thomas Lacey, 61, said he wants to “save the city of Lancaster from builders, real estate dealers and developers who want to overdevelop the city.” Lacey, a retired aerospace quality-control consultant, also wants to create a city police department to replace the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Jeff J. Murray, 21, is a deliveryman for a pizza restaurant and a political science student at Cal State Northridge. He said he sees his candidacy as the start of a political career.

Ray Peeler, 56, a retired landlord, wants to curtail the spread of high-density housing in Lancaster. He opposes recent development near Plant 42, which was also opposed by Air Force officials, who said the proximity of the housing would lead to conflicts over aircraft noise.

Professional tennis umpire Claude (Rocky) Pickering, 63, says he will use his experience as a professional labor arbitrator to end conflict on the City Council. He also believes that council members should not double as members of the Redevelopment Agency and pledges to appoint a representative to that agency in his place.

Frank Roberts, 58, is dean of technical education at Antelope Valley College and serves on local committees working to bring a state university to the area and to block a planned state prison in Lancaster. He believes that a spectrum of community groups should be involved in preparation of the city’s General Plan.

Rodio, 61, is a plumbing contractor and has been on the council longer than the either of the other council members. He urged voters to retain him because of that experience. He also said the council has done a good job, saying, “If you slow down development, you are putting your head in the sand.”

George Root, 59, an administrator for an Edwards Air Force Base research facility, is a leader of mobile home residents. He calls for new schools, improved streets and “planned growth” that would involve strict adherence to the General Plan.

Michael Singer, 36, a Los Angeles County Fire Department captain, made news when he was forced off the ballot over a residency dispute, but has since qualified as a Lancaster resident and started a write-in campaign. He said he speaks for residents concerned that development will destroy their quality of life.

June Snow, a 43-year-old hospital administrator, said development is slowing down on its own and that the council must better plan all the facets of the community affected by growth, including recreation and education.

Freddie Steese, 74, is a retired engineer. He espouses a hard-line anti-crime stance, calling for an auxiliary police force and for treating drug dealing to minors as “premeditated attempted murder.”

Anthony E. Tsaousis, 46, manages an architectural firm. He says one of his priorities is ensuring that the high desert has a viable water supply. He calls for new water conservation measures.