13 TO RUN FOR CITY COUNCIL\Heidt lone incumbent in Santa Clarita race.

Byline: Sherry Joe Crosby Daily News Staff Writer

Thirteen hopefuls, including a former councilwoman, will run for City Council, according to documents filed Wednesday in the City Clerk's Office.

The April 9 election will feature one incumbent, Jan Heidt, who changed her mind and is seeking re-election. Councilman George Pederson is leaving his seat to run for the 36th Assembly District.

Other candidates include Louis Brathwaite, vice chairman of the city Planning Commission; former Councilwoman Jill Klajic; and Laurene Weste, chairwoman of the city Parks and Recreation Commission.

Also running for City Council are Larry Bird, Paul Bond, Timothy Boydston, Frank Ferry, Gary Johnson, Kevin Keyes, Andy Martin, Reinhardt Schuerger and James Rose II.

Although the race has barely begun, roads, crime and jobs already have surfaced as key issues, candidates and race observers noted.

For some candidates, however, no issues seemed to deserve top consideration.

"There's no glaring issues that are life and death," Weste said. She said the state of the city is healthy, and cited plans to continue building a valleywide trail system and a drive to remain among the nation's five safest cities.

Many candidates said they want to build an east-west highway that would relieve traffic congestion on Soledad Canyon Road and Sierra Highway. Commuters clog those and other roads as they travel between home and office in the early morning and evening hours.

"Soledad Canyon is always packed," Klajic said, noting that Canyon Country seems to bear the brunt of traffic jams. "It seems to be our most congested part of town."

Developers who generate growth should pay for needed road improvements, said Klajic, who served on the City Council from 1990 to 1994.

"We've got to be a little more aggressive," she said, charging that the city fails to maximum its use of state and county road funds.

Klajic said she wants to concentrate on building more roads in Seco Canyon and Copper Hill Drive, where 4,700 homes will be built during the next 10 years.

"That's where new growth is happening," she said. "That's where we need to concentrate on building roads."

Keyes, a software executive from Saugus, said he wants to continue synchronizing traffic signals along the valley's major roads and encouraging employers to use flexible hours to ease congestion on valley roads.

"Hopefully, that will help a great deal to improve traffic flow," said Keyes, who noted that 85 percent of Santa Clarita residents commute outside the valley to their jobs.

Some city activists want to divert that flow into Santa Clarita.

"We need to make a very, very concerted effort (to attract) well-paying jobs," said Connie Worden-Roberts, a former city planning commissioner. "We need to have more larger employers and compete with cities like Moorpark and Thousand Oaks."

Councilwoman Jo Anne Darcy suggested that candidates consider more job-training programs for teens and job-retraining programs for adults who have lost their jobs through corporate downsizing.

Crime is also an issue important to Keyes, who suggested cutting taxes to boost take-home pay, making it easier for one parent to stay at home with his or her children. To accomplish that, the candidate said he would work with Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Santa Clarita.

"I'd like to put parents back in the home," Keyes said. "That's the best police force. That's where children learn values - at home."