SANTA CLARITA / ANTELOPE VALLEY : Largest Field in Years Seeks Palmdale Seats : Politics: Thirteen challengers hope to unseat the mayor and 2 council members. Declining local economy and quality of life are issues.

Pointing to the city’s flagging economy and its stubborn crime problems, 13 challengers are hoping to unseat the mayor of Palmdale and two incumbent City Council members in the April 12 municipal election.

Mayor James Ledford and council members James Root and Teri Jones insist that they are working to beef up law enforcement, revitalize the aging downtown business district and attract new employers.

But the challengers--the largest field in more than a dozen years--insist that new blood is needed to get Palmdale--California’s fastest-growing city during the late 1980s--moving again.

“We have two major problems in this city--the creation of jobs and public safety,” said Mike Dispenza, an insurance agency owner who is waging an aggressive, and expensive, campaign for mayor. “I think (Ledford) has fallen down in both of these areas. He has not offered the leadership we need.”

Ledford dismisses such criticism as campaign rhetoric. “I think the most difficult part is getting these challengers to explain how they are going to make their promises come to be,” he said. “When we get into details on issues, I don’t see the plan.”

In many of the state’s smaller cities, the mayor’s job is rotated annually among council members. But in Palmdale, voters elect a mayor directly every two years.

Ledford, who is selling his interest in a local sports bar to pursue other business ventures, was elected to the council in 1990, then successfully ran for mayor two years ago.

Dispenza and police officer Ron J. Saldivar are challenging Ledford this time around. (A fourth mayoral candidate, Rick Pamplin, will also appear on the ballot. Pamplin withdrew from the race after the deadline for having his name removed.)

In the race for two four-year terms on the council, incumbents Root and Jones are facing 11 challengers. One of the campaign’s more dramatic developments has been a split among the incumbents.

Ledford and Root are running as a slate with John A. Mayfield, chairman of the city’s Planning Commission. They said they have not teamed with the third incumbent, Jones, because she has abstained from voting on several key issues.

Jones has defended her voting record and describes herself as an independent thinker who is not afraid to break with the views of the council majority. She has teamed with mayoral candidate Dispenza and council candidate Terence P. Judge, a sheriff’s deputy, on joint mailers.

The other challengers include one former councilman, Thomas Smith. Smith was the top vote-getter in 1986 but lost a 1990 reelection bid by 15 votes.

The race also includes a husband and wife, Ron Saldivar and Lydia Guzman-Saldivar, who are running independently for mayor and council member, respectively.

Several candidates have vowed to spend $20,000 to $30,000 to win, although most expect their campaigns to cost less than $5,000.

At stake is the future of the high desert city of 90,000, which grew at a furious pace during the late 1980s. Skyrocketing Los Angeles real estate prices caused many residents to flock to Palmdale, where builders put up thousands of relatively affordable new houses.

Palmdale edged out its northern neighbor, Lancaster, as the site of the area’s first shopping mall--a lucrative source of tax revenue.

But in recent years, the aerospace slump and plummeting housing prices have hurt the local economy. Home foreclosures are common, as are partially vacant retail centers.

The city’s aging downtown area lost business when retailers moved into or near the regional mall. At the same time, graffiti and other crime problems have increased near the older commercial areas.

Earlier this year, the Northridge earthquake damaged the freeways that thousands of local commuters use to get to work in the Los Angeles area.

During this year’s campaign, nearly all the candidates have said that a crackdown on crime and generating more local jobs are the keys to reviving Palmdale.

The candidates have interpreted recent crime statistics released by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which polices the city, in different ways.

The report showed that the number of major crimes in Palmdale increased about 5% from 1992 to 1993. In particular, more rapes, robberies, assaults and arson fires occurred during 1993.

But the Sheriff’s Department estimated that the city’s population also rose by almost 6,000 during that period. As a result, by measuring the number of offenses per 10,000 residents, the city’s crime rate dropped by about 2%.

No matter how they interpret the numbers, however, nearly every candidate has vowed to add deputies, organize more crime-prevention meetings or draw on their own law-enforcement experience to crack down on crooks.

Incumbent Root has said Palmdale should consider ending its relationship with the Sheriff’s Department to set up a city police agency.

Council candidate Sandy Corrales, however, has complained that by focusing on crime, too many candidates have engaged in “the politics of fear.”

“I would have to question the type of city that some of these candidates are painting,” she said. “It’s not the city I live in.”

To provide more jobs, she and most of the other candidates have called for increased efforts to lure new employers, particularly higher-paying industrial firms.

The candidates for mayor are:

* Mike Dispenza, 55, a six-year resident who chaired the Antelope Valley Business Outlook Conference for three years. He plans to spend about $30,000 in his campaign, half from his personal funds.

* James C. Ledford, 40, a resident since 1968. He served four years on the Planning Commission before being elected to the council and the mayor’s post. He plans to spend up to $20,000, mostly in donations.

* Ron J. Saldivar, 29, an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department who moved to Palmdale a year ago. He is president of a private investigation firm. He expects to spend less than $5,000 on his campaign.

The candidates for the two council seats are:

* Albert Beattie, 50, an eight-year resident who owns a Midas Muffler shop and ran for council in 1992. He is active in downtown revitalization efforts and expects to spend $3,000, mostly his own funds.

* Kamal Chalabi, a retired civil engineering professor who declined to give his age. The 12-year resident has run twice before for mayor and once for council. He plans to spend less than $1,000.

* John Combs, 44, a seven-year resident who is West Coast director of security for the ABC television network. He is commander of a volunteer search-and-rescue team. He plans to spend about $800.

* Sandy Corrales, 28, a six-year resident who owns a public-relations and advertising firm. She is a planning commissioner and is active in business groups. She plans to spend up to $9,000.

* Lydia Guzman-Saldivar, a one-year resident who declined to give her age. She is vice president of a private investigation firm. The community-service volunteer plans to spend $3,500 in donations.

* Teri Jones, 51, a nine-year resident who owns a real-estate business. She was a planning commissioner, lost a council race in 1992, then was appointed to a council vacancy. She expects to spend up to $23,000.

* Terence P. Judge, 39, a six-year resident and a lieutenant in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. He is an aide to the division chief at Los Angeles County Jail. He plans to spend about $10,000.

* John A. Mayfield, 47, a nine-year resident who owns a financial-services firm. He has been a planning commissioner for eight years, chairman the last four. He plans to spend about $5,000, mostly in donations.

* Stuart D. Nichols, 28, a 16-year resident who works as a restaurant efficiency consultant. He is running for office for the first time. He plans to spend less than $1,000 of his own money.

* Stephen Parkins, a fifth-grade teacher at Joshua School in Lancaster. Parkins could not be reached for more information about his background.

* James A. (Jim) Root, 41, an eight-year resident and a teacher and coach at Highland High School. He was elected to the City Council in 1990. He plans to spend up to $20,000, mostly in donations.

* Edward W. Sandoval, 45, a six-year resident who works as an aerospace mechanic for Lockheed. He is a former machinists’ union business representative. He plans to spend less than $1,000.

* Thomas H. Smith, 59, a 13-year resident and retired Air Force test pilot. He is executive director of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. The former councilman plans to spend about $5,000.