CONTRASTS MARK CAMPAIGN; RUNNER, CALDERON DIFFER ON ABORTION RIGHTS, OTHER ISSUES.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry Daily News Staff Writer

Assemblyman George Runner is confident of re-election, but challenger Paula Calderon said she is hoping women and minority issues will help her cause an upset in next month's election.

Runner, R-Lancaster, is seeking his second term in the Legislature, facing Democrat Calderon, a Santa Clarita health care professional, and Libertarian candidate Gregory Bashem on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Calderon acknowledges her leading opponent has a lot of support in the largely conservative 36th District, which covers the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys. Republicans make up about 48 percent of the district's 201,000 registered voters, Democrats about 35 percent.

``But the demographics have changed. They're getting better,'' said Calderon, who is of Mexican descent.

Since entering the election, Calderon has been registering new voters, hoping to attract those interested in her causes - abortion rights, defeating efforts toward school vouchers and improving education.

But Calderon says the most important issue in this election is education.

``I'm not for vouchers,'' Calderon said. ``It's defeating the purpose of bringing the schools up to a certain level.''

Calderon said that a teacher's compensation is also a critical issue. ``You're not going to attract teachers if the pay is low,'' she said.

An admitting manager at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, Calderon said she decided to run after receiving her master's degree in behavioral sciences and joining the Democratic Club of the Santa Clarita Valley.

Runner received more than 60 percent of the vote in the June primary, a comfortable lead.

``We have a good, wide support in the district,'' said Runner, adding that he is also expecting support from Democrats. ``We've been here a long time.''

In contrast to Calderon, Runner aligns with the anti-abortion movement and, in the past, has supported the school voucher system.

The 45-year-old Lancaster resident said that he would spend a second term focusing on education reform and economic development.

``We'll certainly continue with our major effort in economic development,'' Runner said. ``It's important not only to the district, but to the state.''

Runner, a former Lancaster city councilman and founder and executive director of Desert Christian School, would also like to see schools gain more local control.

``We need to build more schools,'' Runner said. ``We need to build cheaper and faster.''

Libertarian candidate Bashem, a delivery driver and father of two, did not return phone calls.