Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : 2 Win Water District Seats Without Votes : Elections: Candidates are sworn in for terms on Palmdale board because they are the only ones to file necessary paperwork.

Two seats were up for grabs on the Palmdale Water District Board of Directors this election year, but the candidates did not appear on ballots Tuesday.

That was because just two people filed papers to run for the two open seats on the governing panel, which is charged with, among other things, making sure that 80,000 people in Palmdale get a steady stream of clean water every time they turn on the tap.

Because the number of candidates was the same as the number of available seats, incumbent Nolan Negaard and newcomer Ronald Cunningham were sworn in by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for four-year terms on the water board without receiving a single vote.

Water may be a precious resource in the Santa Clarita, Antelope and Crescenta valleys, but the election of the boards that set the prices and oversee the delivery of the commodity typically stirs up little attention.

“One would like to think we’re doing a good job, and there’s not much concern,” said Hal Fones, general manager of the Palmdale Water District. “The other possibility is apathy.”

Fones’ agency is the biggest of three Antelope Valley water districts that had available board seats this year but did not appear on the ballot since the candidates were uncontested.

Five other area water boards, each with three seats at stake, did conduct elections Tuesday. Between four and seven candidates were seeking seats on those boards.

Even these races, however, stirred up little local interest. In some of the contests, candidates entered because a longtime incumbent had decided to retire or because of dissatisfaction with current board policies.

The Newhall Water District, for example, appeared on the ballot Tuesday for the first time in a decade. Three challengers and three incumbents were seeking election Tuesday to three seats.

“I have found that a community gets concerned when they want to make changes,” said Fones. “When they don’t have anything in mind that they’d like to change, they let things stand.”

Negaard, who will begin his second term on the Palmdale district board, acknowledged that his agency’s operations rarely spark much controversy.

“I’d been attending water board meetings for 15 years,” the retired English teacher said. “They’re probably the most boring meetings in the world. I figured as long as I was going, I might as well be a board member.”

Robert K. Argenio, general manager of the Crescenta Valley Water District, said this year’s race is only the third to appear on the ballot during his 24 years with the district.

“As long as the water is being provided, and it’s good quality and safe, and there’s an adequate supply, I think a good portion of the people take this for granted,” Argenio said.

In the Crescenta Valley district, which serves about 27,000 people in La Crescenta, Montrose and portions of La Canada Flintridge, the race drew more candidates than usual because of the departure of two incumbents--including one who had served on the board for more than 40 years.

Longevity on water boards seems to be common. In the Quartz Hill Water District, a small district in the west Antelope Valley, there was just one person Tuesday challenging three incumbents who have served a combined 73 years on the board.

Correspondent Sharon Moeser contributed to this story.