Races Emerge for April 12 Election : Politics: An eleventh-hour entrant makes the Calabasas City Council contest a little more interesting.

A last-minute challenger saved the Calabasas City Council election from futility, while broader fields emerged for April 12 city council and mayoral contests in Hidden Hills, San Fernando, Santa Clarita, Lancaster and Palmdale.

Calabasas City Council incumbents Bob Hill, 57, and Dennis Washburn, 51, appeared ready to vie uncontested for their at-large seats until certified public accountant Ted Rosenquist, 47, filed nominating papers 16 minutes before the 5 p.m. deadline.

Hidden Hills residents will choose among five candidates for three at-large seats. They are: incumbents David Stanley, 42; Howard Klein, 50, and James Cohen, 55; along with businessmen Monty Fisher, 55, and Stuart Siegel, 48.

An eight-way race emerged for three at-large seats in the city of San Fernando, where three incumbents face five newcomers.

Two-term incumbent Mayor Dan Acuna, a 53-year-old realtor, joins one-term incumbent Councilmen Jose Hernandez, 63, an urban studies professor at Cal State Northridge who was first elected in 1990, and Doude Wysbeek, a 54-year-old electrical shop owner elected in 1982 and then again in 1990.

They face challengers Arthur Kay, a 53-year-old workers’ compensation attorney; John Becker, 41, a service representative for the Automobile Club of Southern California and a city Transportation and Safety Commission member; Joanne Baltierrez, 36, a program associate for the Coro Southern California nonprofit educational foundation; Edward Guzman, 37, an employment counselor for the state of California and a city Transportation and Safety Commission member, and Raul Godinez II, 31, an engineer.

Fifteen candidates vie for three at-large seats in Santa Clarita.

Two-term incumbents Carl Boyer, 54, a history teacher, and Jo Anne Darcy, 62, a field deputy for Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, met the filing deadline, as did former business owner/consultant Jill Klajic, 47, running for her second term.

They face return challengers Kenneth Dean, 54, an architectural interior designer making his fourth run; Linda Storli, a high school history teacher and former parks commissioner making a second run, and Fred Heiser, a 37-year-old Lockheed engineer from Canyon Country who unsuccessfully challenged Sen. Don Rogers (R-Tehachapi), for the 17th state Senate post.

Newcomers include Larry Bird, a 45-year-old apartment owner and manager; Dennis Farnham, 49, a Los Angeles police officer and small-business owner; Tim Jorgensen, 45, an emergency medical technician; Clyde Smyth, 62, former superintendent of the William S. Hart Union High School District from 1975 to 1992, and Rosalind Wayman, 43, a deputy for Los Angeles City Councilman Marvin Braude. Other candidates include Chris Harder, Michael Kerr, Theodore de Vries and Craig Wanek, who could not be contacted Friday.

Twelve challengers oppose three incumbents for their Lancaster City Council seats. Incumbents Henry Hearns, a 60-year-old Baptist pastor; George Root, 63, a retired Jet Propulsion Laboratory administrator, and Arnie Rodio, 65, a retired small-business owner, seek second terms.

Challengers include Albert Blight, 60, a retired aircraft inspector; Elizabeth Sonleitner, a retired businesswoman; Barbara Halley-Merritt, 47, a marketing consultant and former chairwoman of the Lancaster Mobile Home Rent Arbitration Board; Deborah Shelton, 37, project director for an after-school help line and president of the Lancaster Coalition of Neighborhood Organizations, and William F. Whitlatch, 33, a technical engineer.

The others who have entered the Lancaster race are Michael Singer, 40, a Los Angeles County fire captain; Ronald Thomason, 48, on leave from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department; homemaker Irene Flores, 46; business owner Ronald Main, 26; Roger Price, 39; cosmetologist Belinda Warren, 34, and Arthur Nash, who could not be reached for comment.

In Palmdale, disenchanted Ross Perot supporter Rick Pamplin filed to oppose Mayor Jim Ledford, 40. Also running are Mike Dispenza, 55, an insurance agent serving on the Greater Antelope Valley Economic Development Corp. board, and Ron Saldivar, who could not be reached for comment.

In the council race, incumbents Teri Jones, 51, and Jim Root, 41, face 12 challengers:

Planning Commissioners and business owners Sandy Corrales and John A. Mayfield, 47; Albert Beattie, 50, a Palmdale business owner; Stuart D. Nichols, 28, a consultant; Kamal Chalabi, a retired engineering professor; senior aircraft mechanic Edward W. Sandoval, 45; Terence P. Judge, 39, a Los Angeles County sheriff’s sergeant; automotive machinist Harold E. Smith, 59, and Tom Smith, 59, a retired test pilot and former planning commissioner who served on the council from 1986 to 1990.

Also filing were Stephen Parkins, Lydia Guzman-Saldivar, and John Combs, none of whom could be reached for comment.

Contributing to this story were Times correspondents Kurt Pitzer, Douglas Alger and Sharon Moeser.