LAS VIRGENES: INCUMBENT, NEWCOMER ELECTED IN AGOURA HILLS.

Byline: Rachel Uranga Staff Writer

Incumbent Dan Kuperberg and newcomer John Edelston won seats on the Agoura Hills City Council Tuesday night in one of the most heated elections in the Las Virgenes area of Los Angeles County.

In other area elections incumbents kept their seats on the Las Virgenes Unified School District Board of Trustees, while newcomers were elected to the Westlake Village City Council.

Kuperberg and John Edelston, a health care consultant, were the leaders among six candidates vying for the two City Council seats in Agoura Hills.

Stephen Rishoff, brother of outgoing Councilwoman Louise Rishoff, and Alex Soteras, president of the Agoura-Oak Park-Las Virgenes Chamber of Commerce, came in third and fourth respectively.

Kuperberg said he won because of voter satisfaction with the council's slow-growth policy.

The two winners will serve with three others on a council that controls an annual budget of $18.7 million and a staff of 32 providing services for 21,000 residents of the affluent city.

Incumbents Terilyn Finders and Patricia Schulz both won Tuesday night in the race for two seats on the Las Virgenes school board.

``People see strength in the team that's there, and they want to keep it together,'' Finders said.

Both incumbents said that, under their watch, the board had eased tensions between teachers and school administrators in the 21,000-student district known for high academic performance.

In Westlake Village, where three newcomers were competing for two open City Council seats, Jim Bruno pulled ahead of the rest and ultimately won a seat; Phillipa Klessig captured the other seat.

The campaign for the council, which operates a $9 million budget, centered on how to improve schools and build alliances with neighboring cities.

Rachel Uranga, [phone]

rachel.uranga(at)dailynews.com