ELECTIONS / PALMDALE COUNCIL : New Majority Could Favor Homeowners

Palmdale residents could see a continuing homeowner-oriented shift in their city government in Tuesday’s municipal election when they vote to fill three seats on the five-member City Council, picking from a crowded field of candidates drawn by two vacancies.

Palmdale Mayor Pete Knight chose to run for state Assembly instead of seeking another two-year term, drawing four candidates into the mayoral race. And eight candidates are vying for two four-year council seats, including one left vacant by a councilwoman running for mayor.

A move toward more resident-oriented development policies that began with the 1990 election appears likely to shift from a minority to a majority view on the council this year, although debate over development has been muted by the recession-driven building slowdown and loss of jobs.

Councilman Jim Ledford, elected in 1990 on a managed-growth platform along with Councilman Jim Root, is running for mayor but would keep his council seat even if he loses. However, Councilwoman Janis DeLaTorre, a more pro-development candidate, surrendered her council seat to run for mayor.

Even if DeLaTorre wins the mayoral race, Ledford and Root would remain on the council. They probably will pick up at least one other pro-homeowner ally from the two council races, where Councilman Joe Davies is vying with seven challengers, including three Planning Commission members.

DeLaTorre’s mayoral bid may have suffered a setback this week when three former employees of Palmdale’s now-closed Woolworth store alleged that she was detained for shoplifting a small item five months ago. But employees said Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were not called, and DeLaTorre denies the incident.

Meanwhile, critics have attacked Ledford for getting campaign support from former Mayor Lynda Cook, who was recalled along with two other council members in 1982. Ledford also leases his business property from Cook, who remains politically active but otherwise dismisses the issue.

If Ledford is elected mayor, that would create another opening on the council after the election, which the likely new council majority probably would fill through an appointment. The following are brief profiles of the candidates for mayor:

* Janis DeLaTorre, 49, is a two-term councilwoman first elected in 1984 as a homeowner activist. Now generally considered pro-development, DeLaTorre has stressed her efforts toward such city accomplishments as a new regional shopping mall, a new auto mall, an anti-graffiti program and several new parks.

DeLaTorre, who reported raising more than $7,500, gives Palmdale’s city government high marks. But she says the city still must push for an increased share of property tax revenues, pursue new industry to create jobs, include Palmdale in a flood control district and build a new civic center that would include a City Hall and recreation facilities.

* Jim Ledford, 38, is a former city planning commissioner who was the top vote-getter in the City Council races when first elected two years ago. A former Lockheed employee who now owns the Generations bar-deli, Ledford said he has been sensitive to homeowner concerns about development issues.

The councilman, who has reported raising more than $7,000, promises to work on revitalizing Palmdale’s shabby downtown area, pursue a long-awaited city law to regulate hillside development and pay more attention to upgrading mobile home parks and fostering industrial development.

* Inez Neilson, 58, is an 18-year real estate broker, Palmdale School District board member from 1973 to 1981, and near mayoral winner in 1988. Neilson is running on a strong pro-business platform, urging less city red tape and chiding city officials for not doing enough to attract industry.

Neilson, who has reported raising nearly $10,000, says the city should market itself to business more aggressively. She also wants more money spent on sheriff’s patrols, argues that too much city money is spent on social events and stresses the need to transition Air Force Plant 42 into a rail car construction center.

* Kamal Chalabi, 65, is a former civil engineering professor at Cal State Long Beach who almost was elected to the council in 1988 but then finished a distant second for mayor in 1990. Chalabi boasts that he attends almost every City Council meeting, often questioning city officials’ decisions.

Chalabi, who has reported raising more than $9,000, most of it his own money, complains that current city officials lack knowledge and leadership, and accuses them of waste and bureaucracy. Chalabi has pledged to attract more jobs, support the Sheriff’s Department and solve flooding problems.

Candidates for two seats on the City Council are:

* Joe Davies, 69, was elected to the council in 1988 after 30 years in the Air Force, including a stint as commander of Plant 42, and 16 years as a Rockwell International manager. Davies said he brings a common-sense approach to solving the city’s problems and stresses fiscal responsibility.

Although hospitalized recently, Davies said he has recovered. The councilman stresses the familiar themes of more jobs and law enforcement. But he also has proposed forming a group to retain small businesses and wants a streamlined city permit process. He has raised nearly $13,000.

* David Myers, 33, is a member of the city Planning Commission and administrator for the United Cerebral Palsy/Spastic Children’s Foundation. Also a former aide to Los Angeles City Councilwoman Joy Picus, Myers is running a joint campaign with Ledford and has raised nearly $7,800.

Myers has promised to focus on the needs of Palmdale commuters and young families, the city’s new breed of residents. He has called for more single-deputy sheriff’s patrols, expanding the city’s library, streamlining the permit process for businesses and pursuing the city’s plans to create a foreign trade zone.

* Teri Jones, 49, is another Planning Commission member and owner of a realty firm. Generally considered a moderate, Jones says adopting a new long-awaited General Plan is one of her top priorities. She also emphasizes solving the city’s flooding problems and catering to small businesses.

Jones, along with other planning commissioners, pushed for the recent adoption of city laws to preserve Joshua trees and limit building heights in certain areas. She also favors trying to attract air cargo operators to Plant 42, and reported raising nearly $6,800 for the campaign.

* John Mayfield, 45, is chairman of the city’s Planning Commission and owns a financial services business in Palmdale. A conservative who says he has earned a reputation for fairness, Mayfield has proposed immediately forming a task force to review and improve the city’s business climate.

He said the city needs to revitalize its downtown area, adopt its new General Plan, diversify its economy beyond defense and aerospace, and preserve existing mobile home parks. Mayfield has run the quietest campaign of the three commission members, raising only about $550.

* Albert Beattie, 48, owns the Midas Muffler shop in Palmdale and is a reserve deputy sheriff. Beattie, who has raised about $1,255, advocates “building a family community,” saying city officials have focused too much on the development instead of improving Palmdale’s quality of life.

Beattie, making his first bid for public office, said he would make law enforcement his top priority and complains that the city has not adequately funded sheriff’s patrols. He said the city needs a new General Plan, wants to strip officials of their city credit cards and create a better business climate.

* Celeste Eckley, 28, is a former homeowner group president, works as a mechanical engineer for Bechtel Corp. and finished in the middle of the pack in the 1990 council election. She also has stressed the familiar themes of law enforcement, jobs and improved flood control.

Eckley said she would be more personable and sensitive to the needs of city residents than other candidates and stresses the importance of better communications. She reported raising nearly $2,300 for the campaign.

* Dominic Bellasperanza, 65, is a retired Rockwell International engineer who has called for slow-growth development policies, although he has received most of his $995 campaign fund from the developer-funded Southern California Caucus, a political committee.

* Patrick Conover, a 31-year-old free-lance writer, will appear on the ballot but has dropped out of the race.

* Durwood Bland, 59, a retired aircraft worker who ran for council in 1990, is a write-in candidate this year.