12 RUNNING FOR MOJAVE SCHOOL BOARD.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer

Voters in the Mojave Unified School District can pick from a crowded field in the November election: 12 people are vying for four seats on the school board.

Incumbents Connie Biehl, Annette Edblad and Rita Kellas face seven challengers in a bid for three four-year seats, while two others are running to fill the two-year post held by Tom Pear, an appointee who is not running for re-election.

The seven challengers for the full-term seats are William White, one of the owners of White's Motel; Kathryn Pluta, managing editor of the Mojave Desert News; building contractor Shawn Sprague; Timothy Storey, general manager of the Pizza Factory restaurant; Evelynn Turner, office manager in the Kern County building inspection department; George Lewis, a retired teacher from the Muroc Joint Unified School District; and quality engineer Michael Edmiston.

The two candidates running for Pear's seat are Keith Gainey, chief accountant for the Golden Queen Mining Co., and Richard Hall, a former board member.

In the Muroc Joint Unified School District, three four-year seats are up for grabs, and only one incumbent has filed to run, Karen Webster. The other two incumbents, Paula Harper and Steve Wiser, have declined to run.

Four candidates are running for Wiser's seat, which represents the Boron area. They are eligibility technician Willie Nelson, painter Mike Lowrey, instrumentation electrician Lamour Riddle, and senior research technician Stanley Evans.

Webster and challenger Janice Finch, who is self-employed, have filed for the two seats representing the area of Edwards Air Force Base, so they will automatically get in.