Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Council Races in Lancaster and Palmdale Off to a Quiet Start : Elections: The filing period began earlier this year. Officials say most hopefuls will join the fray after Jan. 1.

An early filing period for candidates in the upcoming local election may be why few people have taken out papers so far, but a bevy of council hopefuls are still expected to enter the races in Lancaster and Palmdale before the Jan. 14 deadline.

“It’s been pretty quiet so far,” said Palmdale City Clerk Victoria Denham. “But I’ve gotten a lot of inquiries.”

Most people thinking of running for a council seat in the April election are probably busy with the holidays and will request candidacy papers after the first of the year, Denham said.

Lancaster City Clerk Barbara Howard agreed, saying she expects more candidate activity after the holidays pass.

A change in the law moved the filing period for candidates in the local April election to Dec. 20 through Jan. 14. It had previously been January through February.

The city clerks provide prospective candidates with packets that include information about the election and disclosure requirements as well as the official filing papers.

The candidates, among other things, are required to submit the signatures of 25 registered voters and are allowed to submit no more than 30 signatures by the Jan. 14 deadline.

Two four-year council seats and the two-year mayoral post are available in Palmdale. In Lancaster, where there is not an elected mayor, there are three council seats up for grabs in the April election.

All six incumbents in the Lancaster and Palmdale city council races are planning to seek reelection.

In Palmdale, Mayor Jim Ledford is the only person as of Thursday who has requested papers for the mayor’s seat.

Ledford said he wants to continue to focus city efforts on revitalization of the downtown area and also expand community-based policing and economic development efforts.

For the two available Palmdale council seats, planning commissioners Sandy Corrales and John Mayfield have received filing papers. Newcomer John Combs has also requested the papers. Combs could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Corrales, appointed to the commission in the spring of 1992, said she wants to ensure that Palmdale continues to offer residents a good quality of life. “I grew up in inner-city Los Angeles. I never really had a sense of community or neighborhood.”

Mayfield, who has served on the commission since 1986, said his experience would enable him to serve the community well. “There’s a lot of positive things I think I can do.”

As of Thursday, Denham said none of the candidate packets had been returned.

Incumbents Teri Jones and Jim Root both said they plan to seek reelection. Root could not be reached Thursday for comment.

Jones, a former planning commissioner, was appointed to the council in May, 1992, to fill an unexpired term. She said one of her primary campaign issues will be community safety.

“I’d also like to continue to work toward cooperation with both the cities (on) regional issues,” she said. “I think we’ve opened the door to a cooperative spirit in many areas and we still have to work on some areas.”

In Lancaster, clerk Howard has so far distributed just six of the 20 candidate packets she prepared, although she said she has received many telephone inquiries.

Incumbents Henry Hearns, Arnie Rodio and George Root have all been issued candidate papers. Potential challengers Deborah Shelton, William Whitlatch and John Armstrong have also received the filing papers.

As of Thursday, Howard said none of the filing papers had been returned.

Hearns, nearing the end of his first four-year term, said he wants to continue the course the council is on, such as dealing with environmental issues and the plethora of capital improvements that are under way.

“I ran in 1990 for creating harmony within the team of council people,” he said. “I think we’ve been reasonably able to achieve that, so I want to continue that.”

Root, also finishing his first four-year term, said he still has “some things I didn’t get completed.” He would like to see the creation of a youth court where teen-agers who commit minor offenses would face a court of their peers.

“There’s a lot of things that haven’t been finished,” he said. “It takes a long time to get things done through city government.”

Armstrong said he is unsure if his work schedule will afford him the time to serve on the council but that he is hopeful he can arrange something before the filing deadline passes. “I’ve been interested for a long time in seeking public office and helping out, making the city a better place.”

Shelton, who has been active with the city for four years on various city task forces, is concerned that the current council fails to listen to the public.

“As a woman, I hope to bring a nurturing and listening ability,” said Shelton, who is also concerned about crime, the lack of industry in the community and the lack of supervision for children after school.

Neither Rodio nor Whitlatch could be reached for comment.