2 COUNCIL HOPEFULS OUT FRONT KELLAR, SMYTH LEAD IN FUNDING.

Byline: Angela M. Lemire Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Eleven days before the City Council election, two candidates have eclipsed the $50,000 mark in campaign funds, with candidate Cameron Smyth maintaining his lead among 11 candidates.

The latest campaign disclosures released Friday show that Smyth, who works as deputy chief of staff to state Sen. William J. ``Pete'' Knight, R- Palmdale, has raised $54,437, while current city Planning Commission chairman and local real estate broker Bob Kellar has raised $50,878. The two candidates had the largest campaign accounts, according to previous filings released March 3.

The two candidates - who have endorsed each other for two nonpartisan council seats being vacated in the April 11 election - each have a more than $42,000 advantage over nine other candidates in this year's race.

Candidate Marsha McLean - a local businesswoman making her second run for City Council since 1998 - jockeyed into a slightly higher standing since the last filing, jumping from the fourth- to the third-largest campaign account with $8,608.

Not too far behind was candidate Diane Trautman, who claimed $7,000 by Friday. Like McLean, the two-term elementary school PTA president from Saugus schools also had moved up in standing since the last filing.

Political newcomer Bob Jonsen, who works as a training officer for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, has dropped two places in fund-raising standings since early March. His account reached $6,194 by Friday.

Campaign disclosures released Friday also showed that candidate Joe Nocella, a finance officer for the Los Angeles Redevelopment Agency, had amassed $2,375 in campaign contributions and that Rein Schuerger, a Los Angeles County sheriff's sergeant, had raised $2,600.

Timothy Michael Shanklin, an author and publisher; John Steffen, a retired biologist; and Robert Heinisch, a marketing and sales executive, said they had neither raised nor spent any money on their campaigns.

The 11 candidates are vying for two four-year seats now held by Councilwomen Jill Klajic and Jan Heidt. Neither councilwoman is seeking re- election.