ELECTIONS / SANTA CLARITA CITY COUNCIL : Amid Post-Quake Recovery, Campaign Has Been Quiet One

Eleven residents are competing for three seats on the City Council, which controls a $50-million budget and has responsibility for suburban problems sometimes older than the city itself.

Incumbents Jo Anne Darcy and Carl Boyer, who have served on the council since the city’s incorporation in 1987, are seeking reelection in the April 12 race. Jill Klajic, who also was active in the cityhood effort, is running for a second term.

H. Clyde Smyth, former superintendent of the William S. Hart Union High School District, and Linda Storli, a former city parks commissioner, are among the better known challengers.

Darcy, Smyth and Fred Heiser, an aerospace engineer who ran for a state Senate seat on the Libertarian ticket in 1992, have been the top fund-raisers in the race.

Also seeking a council seat are Larry Bird, an apartment manager; Theodore De Vries, a waiter and zoo docent; Dennis Farnham, a police officer; Tim Jorgensen, a contract administrator, and Craig Wanek, a realtor.

The names of Ken Dean and Rosalind Wayman appear on the ballot, but both have dropped out of the race.

Roads, public safety and economic prosperity are top campaign issues--with candidates calling for more streets, more sheriff’s deputies and more business incentives.

Santa Clarita’s main streets form an inverted triangle, with only one major route for traveling east or west through the city and several bottleneck-prone intersections. Leaders have sought for years to create additional traffic routes without intruding upon existing homes or businesses.

Meanwhile, those proud of Santa Clarita’s reputation as a safe city watched nervously in 1993 as its low crime rate grew with additional graffiti and other vandalism. Efforts from a city anti-gang task force and volunteer graffiti-removal group have kept incidents in check, but concerns remain.

And although Santa Clarita is financially sound and withstood a wounded Southern California economy better than most cities, small businesses have struggled.

All candidates have cited these issues as important challenges for the city. But many residents currently are more concerned with recovering from the Northridge earthquake than with politics, and the 1994 race for City Council has been a quiet one. Squabbles have been confined to illegal billboards and other promotional materials.

*

Six of the eight candidates who posted signs violated a local ordinance last month by not listing who paid for them, and a seventh printed the disclosure too small. The only candidate who obeyed the law quickly took his signs down for fear he’d done something wrong.

Days later, complaints forced an incumbent to remove the city phone number from a billboard and another to stop using a variation of the city logo on advertising flyers.

Whether from courtesy or common sense, political hopefuls campaigned little in the months following the Jan. 17 Northridge earthquake and now have just days left to get their messages to the public.

A look at the candidates, in alphabetical order, some of their positions and the amount they have raised for their campaigns follow:

* Larry Bird, 45, manages a Newhall apartment complex and wants to bring more curbs, sidewalks, street lights and other amenities to his community. He said he’s frustrated that money is earmarked for neighborhood construction projects, but the work has not been done. “We don’t have enough of anything, except city government. We’ve got enough of that.” Bird has raised less than $1,000.

* Carl Boyer, 54, is an incumbent and high school history teacher. He wants to bring jobs to the city and believes his League of California Cities membership is an asset. He was active in Santa Clarita’s cityhood drive and seeks compromises to solve problems. “Our goal must be to achieve consensus, cooperation and results.” Boyer has raised $7,218.

* Jo Anne Darcy, 62, is an incumbent and field deputy for Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich. She wants to maintain a year-round disaster preparedness unit and expand citizen efforts to fight crime. Darcy hopes to increase tourism, film projects and various businesses in the Santa Clarita Valley. Darcy has raised $16,956.

* Theodore De Vries, 30, is a waiter and Los Angeles Zoo docent. He opposes a city smoking ban and closing City Hall alternating Fridays. De Vries calls local government unresponsive and is against funding a cowboy poetry festival while other needs exist. “I’m running for the City Council because I think their priorities are screwed,” he said. De Vries has raised less than $1,000.

* Dennis Farnham, 49, is a Los Angeles Police Department officer and business owner. He wants to reduce crime by getting youths involved in positive activities and expanding Neighborhood Watch programs. Farnham said he’ll retire from the LAPD if elected and believes his business background is important for handling a city budget. Farnham has raised $7,563.

* Fred Heiser, 37, is an aerospace engineer. He wants to develop a high-tech job market in Santa Clarita and says the city needs a grid system of roads. Heiser said he supports keeping taxes low, open government, making new development pay its own way and enforcing ordinances that make parents take responsibility for their children’s actions. Heiser has raised $19,005.

* Jill Klajic, 47, is an incumbent and a former business owner and consultant. Although all candidates oppose the proposed Elsmere Canyon dump, she is perhaps its most vocal critic. Klajic cites her experience dealing with the issues facing Santa Clarita, and believes the quiet election race means the existing council is doing well. Klajic has raised $6,753.

* Tim Jorgensen, 45, is a contract administrator for a local ambulance company. He favors term limits and worries the young government here is settling for the status quo on issues. “There is no single divisive issue here. On the other hand, there is no single accomplishment by the incumbents that separates them from the challengers.” Jorgensen has raised $1,700.

* H. Clyde Smyth, 62, is former superintendent of the William S. Hart Union High School District. He says earthquake recovery, crime, business retention and transportation are important city issues. “Attracting and retaining industry in this valley, so that residents can work where they live, will cut long-distance commutes and give people more free time for community service,” he said. Smyth has raised $13,476.

* Linda Storli, 45, is a high school government teacher and former city parks commissioner. Public safety and roads are top issues on her agenda. She wants a sheriff’s deputy on high school campuses and vows to tackle problems without concern for reelection. “I think we need to increase youth activities to decrease the peer pressure to get involved with gangs.” Storli has raised about $3,000.

* Craig Wanek, 39, is a real estate agent. He says the council is too involved in politics and doesn’t address local needs. Wanek wants more youth activities and public participation. He favors term limits and surveying residents regularly for their views. “There’s a division between the city and the people; they don’t communicate,” he said. Wanek has raised less than $1,000.