CANDIDATE'S JOB DESCRIPTION UPHELD BY COURT; JUDGE ACCEPTS BOARD HOPEFUL'S `ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANT' TITLE.

Byline: Angela M. Lemire Staff Writer

The occupational listing for Newhall County Water board candidate Lynne Plambeck on the November ballot will remain ``environmental water consultant,'' despite a voter's objection brought to Superior Court.

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge on Wednesday ruled in Plambeck's favor to allow the designation to remain on her ballot statement, finding that she currently spends the majority of her work hours each week consulting on water issues.

Plambeck presented as evidence five declarations from clients who volunteered to support her defense, as well as a log book showing that each week she spends about 37 hours consulting and 15 hours managing her family-owned manufacturing company in Burbank.

Canyon Country resident Sheldon Allen sought to change Plambeck's occupation listing on the November ballot, arguing it was false and misleading to voters because the manufacturing plant was her principal form of income.

Plambeck on Wednesday said she hoped for an apology from Allen, because he did not contact her to verify his claims before taking the matter to court.

``The next time he should ask some questions before he takes someone to court,'' she said.

Allen could not be reached for comment on Wednesday, but his attorney Bradley Hertz said his client's lawsuit was initiated in good faith and didn't warrant an apology. ``I wouldn't have her wait by the phone,'' he said.

Hertz said he was disappointed with the ruling, because he felt it was not supported by evidence.

``I continue to be of the view that (water consulting) is an avocation, or a second job, but not her principal livelihood,'' Hertz said. He added, ``I think the voters will be sophisticated enough to put her to the test, and decide for themselves whether she truly is an environmental water consultant.''

Plambeck, a former Newhall water board member seeking one of two available seats in the the November election, argued in her defense that she has been switching careers from running the light manufacturing business to being a hired consultant on water-related issues.

Career changed gradually

She told the court her primary occupation changed over the past few years to that of a professional consultant, beginning with her community involvement on the Newhall County Water District board and her environmental activism. Plambeck serves as vice president of the Santa Clarita Organization for Planning the Environment.

Plambeck was not required by the court to submit financial statements as evidence - as Hertz requested - but was asked to prove how she spent the majority of her work hours.

Though only a minor legal scuffle, Wednesday's hearing resembled another battle two years ago, when Plambeck and fellow board members Ed Dunn and David Rapoport - three incumbents seeking re-election - filed challenges to ballot statements written by candidates who later won: Valerie Thomas, Thomas Campbell and Barbara Dore.

Past challenge was defense

The incumbents had claimed the three made false statements about the water supplied by Newhall County Water, but the matter was thrown out because the defendants were not served court summonses within the 24-hour legal time frame required before hearings.

Plambeck - who has accused Allen of challenging her ballot statement as a political attack - said the court action two years ago was not meant to smear a political foe, but was the incumbents' defense against false claims made about the agency's water quality.

With Newhall board members Mike Kotch and Dick Unger deciding not to seek re-election this year, Plambeck is opposed in the election by political newcomer Richard Goss and former Castaic Lake Water board member Randall Pfeister. Goss is employed by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and manages its retirement fund; Pfeister works as an engineer and research scientist in the aerospace industry for a defense contractor.