ELECTIONS PALMDALE : Vote Threatens Split on Council

The apparent election defeat of two Palmdale City Council members by challengers favoring tighter controls on development appears to divide the once solidly pro-growth council in the rapidly expanding Antelope Valley city.

Semiofficial results from Tuesday’s election showed businessman James Ledford and high school teacher James Root, who ran a joint campaign calling for more controls on growth, defeating first-term incumbents Tom Smith and Daniel Becker, both considered pro-growth advocates.

Of the three incumbents on the ballot, only Mayor William (Pete) Knight clearly won reelection, outdistancing two opponents. But voters rejected a city-backed ballot measure to lengthen the mayor’s term in office from two years to four, beginning in 1992.

The outcome of the council race remained uncertain because Root led Smith by only 26 votes in the semiofficial tally, with an estimated 152 ballots uncounted. However, Smith said Wednesday he did not expect to overtake Root in the final tally, which is due by Friday.

The result would leave Palmdale, one of the fastest-growing cities in California, with a sharply divided City Council. All five incumbents had been considered pro-growth. But Ledford and Root, while not advocating “slow growth,” have urged closer scrutiny of development projects.

“It sounds to me like the people have spoken for a change in the direction our city’s going to take. I think they’re looking for a little more controlled growth,” said Ledford, a city Planning Commission member and owner of a Palmdale bar and restaurant.

During the campaign, Ledford and Root promised to increase the city’s park space, reduce traffic congestion and force builders to better mitigate the impacts of their developments. Both had the backing of city homeowner groups.

In contrast, Smith and Becker stressed the advantages of the city’s growth, including a new regional shopping mall set to open this fall. They too had homeowner support, but their campaigns also were strongly backed by developers and development-related political consultants.

Smith blamed his apparent defeat on the changing makeup of Palmdale. He said the city has become increasingly populated with Los Angeles-area residents who moved to escape urban ills, but now want to “pull up the drawbridge.”

Becker blamed his loss on two mailers attacking his rivals sent out by a pro-development group--the Southern California Caucus--linked to his campaign. Becker insisted he did not authorize the mailers and said they produced a voter backlash. One disclosed Ledford had a 1983 drunk-driving conviction.

But Ledford went on to get 20.7% of the vote, more than anyone else in the field of 10 candidates for the two council seats. He was trailed by Root with 19.3%, Smith with 19% and Becker with 15.4%. None of the other candidates got more than 10%.

Knight got 60.7% to win a second two-year term as mayor, beating Kamal Chalabi with 22.9% and Brian Spencer with 16.4%. Measure A, which would have given the mayor the same four-year term as council members, was rejected 64.8% to 35.2%.

The voter turnout in the election was just under 19%.