`MISTER MAYOR' SLOWING PACE LANCASTER'S FIRST AMONG EQUALS READY TO BECOME PRIVATE CITIZEN.

Byline: JIM SKEEN Staff Writer

LANCASTER - After 10 years in which he said he routinely devoted 70 hours a week to his service as mayor, Frank Roberts is feeling relieved to step down.

Roberts was Lancaster's first mayor elected directly by the city's voters. Previously, City Council members chose one of themselves as mayor, rushing from one meeting or community event to another and juggling more than two dozen committees and commissions.

Roberts, who chose not to run for a sixth two-year term as mayor, last week wrapped up 14 years of service on the council.

``It's a lot of relief from appointments and the obligations of a full-time mayor,'' Roberts, a retired Antelope Valley College dean who turned 75 on Friday, said of his new role as private citizen.

Before he was directly elected as mayor five times, he was elected to a four-year council term in which he also was mayor for one year under the old system in which the post was rotated.

He retired from his college position after he was elected mayor in 1996.

``He brought longevity and stability,'' said Vice Mayor Ed Sileo. ``He presided over good times and bad, and he stayed the course.

``He devoted an incredible amount of time to the Mayor's Office. It was a full-time job and then some.''

His council colleagues, to whom Roberts is still ``Mister Mayor,'' will hold a dinner in his honor on May 15 at the Essex Convention Center.

While some major cities, including Los Angeles, give their mayor the powers of a chief executive, in Lancaster the mayor is essentially first among equals on the City Council.

``You do heavily influence the tenor of the meetings and do effectively sway the balance,'' Roberts said of being a mayor directly elected by the voters, rather than chosen by fellow council members.

``There is a higher degree of control and influence. I'm not saying I was a strong leader, but I had enough influence to make them (council members) stick together.''

The mayor chairs the council meetings, serves as the city's chief spokesperson and represents Lancaster in some regional roles.

Roberts was on the council when Lancaster experienced rapid growth and city government developed a slew of public buildings and sports facilities, including the municipal baseball stadium, the Lancaster National Soccer Center, the Big 8 softball complex, a new Metrolink station and, through an agreement with Los Angeles County government, a new sheriff's station, a new library and new fire stations.

During his time on the council, thousands of new jobs were created in Lancaster with the opening of a Countrywide home-loan processing office and distribution centers for the Rite Aid and Michaels store chains.

Roberts lists his duty as a board member of the regional Metropolitan Transportation Authority as one of his more significant contributions. He estimates he helped bring in more than $288 million for transportation projects for northern Los Angeles County during his seven years on the MTA board.

Among those projects is the widening now under way on a 6.2-mile section of the Antelope Valley Freeway between Avenue P-8 and Pearblossom Highway. Roberts and county Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich pushed hard to secure the funding for that project.

``I didn't know what I was getting into,'' Roberts said of the MTA, which Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has made one of his own priorities. ``I was trying to fight to get our fair share, and I was constantly fighting against the sharks.''

Roberts, who served as the MTA's board chairman, said he and Antonovich had to educate the other members about the existence of the Antelope Valley.

``The most valuable degree I ever got is my `MTA degree,''' Roberts said.

Councilman Andy Visokey praised Roberts' work on the MTA.

``He kept transportation issues up front,'' Visokey said. ``It gave us an opportunity we wouldn't have had with someone from down below.''

Roberts said he will remain active in the community, but not at the hectic pace he maintained as mayor. He expects to keep a few public committee assignments, as on the county panel that decides how to allocate work-force education grants.

``I'm going to have a lot of things to do,'' Roberts said.

The Roberts appreciation dinner will be at 7 p.m. May 15 at the Essex Convention Center, 44916 10th Street West. Tickets are $20 each and checks can be made payable to the city of Lancaster, 44933 Fern Avenue, Lancaster, CA 93534.

Those interested should R.S.V.P. by Friday to Terry Crosby at 723-6007 or by e-mail at tcrosby(at)cityoflancasterca.org.

james.skeen(at)dailynews

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(color) After five terms as Lancaster's first directly elected mayor and 14 years on the City Council, Frank Roberts has retired from public office.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer