BOARD MEMBER LEADS OPPONENTS IN FUNDS CONCERNS ABOUT SOURCE OF CASH.

Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO Staff Writer

LANCASTER -- With the election less than two weeks away, Antelope Valley Hospital incumbent Dr. Don Parazo is leading all candidates in fundraising, collecting nearly 10 times more than his nearest competitor.

Parazo raised $62,560 -- of which $60,000 came from his employer, High Desert Medical Group -- and spent $85,544 as of Oct.21, records show.

By comparison, incumbent June Snow has received $6,494 in contributions, and challenger Roger Berger has raised $3,988.

Amid concerns raised by Snow, Berger and challenger Deborah Rice about Parazo and two other High Desert Medical Group employees forming a majority of the hospital board, High Desert Medical Group contributed $3,000 each to Berger and Snow.

``For me, I would like to help any candidate who will do a good job for the community regardless of what they feel about High Desert Medical Group. I would like their voices to be heard,'' said Dr. Charles Lim, the High Desert Medical Group's medical director. ``I did not ask them for anything in return.

``I also believe Antelope Valley residents would like to know who can take care of their health. They are not interested in all these contributions,'' Lim said.

Snow said she was going to return the money, and Berger said he kept his.

``I don't think it's right to complain about them and take money from them,'' Snow said.

Berger said he took the money because he needed it.

``I'm not like some other candidates who have been able to get an adequate amount of donations from other people,'' Berger said. ``Dr. Lim is the one who approached me and said he wanted to make it a fair and equitable election. I said fine. If he thinks $3,000 is going to be enough to sweeten the pot to be on his side, he's got a sad thing coming.''

Parazo, a family practice physician, and Snow, a retired registered nurse, are seeking re-election to the board to which they were both elected in 2002.

They face challengers Berger, a retired fire paramedic, Rice, a former board member and nurse practitioner, and Maricela Tisbert, a high school clerk, in the Nov.7 election.

Rice and Tisbert have said they do not intend to raise $1,000 or more.

Campaign contribution and spending reports were filed with the county and cover the period up through Oct.21. The next report is due Jan.31.

This year's campaign is turning out to be a relatively low-spending affair, compared with Antelope Valley Hospital's 2004 board election, which was the most expensive local election in Antelope Valley history.

In the 2004 election, which drew nine candidates, nearly $585,000 was raised, and more than $653,000 was spent. In that election, incumbent Dr. Abdallah Farrukh was re-elected along with former hospital director Dr. John Manning and nurse practitioner Berna Mayer, both High Desert Medical Group employees.

In the 2002 campaign, a total of $439,452 was raised, $267,729 by Parazo alone. Nearly 60percent, or $157,500 of Parazo's contributions, came from High Desert Medical group in the form of cash and nonmonetary donations.

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