OFF AND RUNNING IN CITY ELECTION CANDIDATES TAKE TO THE TRACK AT FIRST FORUM.

Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer

LANCASTER - At the first forum in the upcoming municipal election, candidates focused on fighting crime and involving citizens, and they differed on whether Lancaster as a community is on the right track or going downhill.

With five-term Mayor Frank Roberts bowing out, Vice Mayor Henry Hearns and five other challengers are running for the mayor's post. First-term Councilman Ed Sileo and nine challengers are vying for two council seats - Sileo's and the one Hearns is giving up to try to be mayor.

``This is our first opportunity to be able to see the future of Lancaster,'' said moderator Mark Archuleta at the luncheon forum sponsored Tuesday by the Antelope Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

The Essex House forum drew four of six mayoral candidates and six of 10 council candidates registered for the April 11 election. Mayoral candidates Hearns, Gene Gaynor, David Paul and Peter Ware were there, as were council candidates Sileo, Ron Smith, James Abedejos, Janette Crawford, David Abber and Roger Price.

Mayoral candidates Doug Sichley and Irv Mitchell Jr. and council candidates Nellie Tillman, James Young, Barry White, and Kenneth Williams did not attend.

The strongest attacks against the current city government came from mayoral candidate Gaynor, who ran unsuccessfully against Roberts in 2004 and 2002, and from council candidate Abber, who ran for mayor in 2000 and 2002.

``I think Lancaster needs new leadership. We're going nowhere right now - just talk,'' Gaynor said. He said Lancaster leaders paid consultants money that could have gone to law enforcement,

``I'm a very aggressive, get-the-job-done person,'' Gaynor said.

Abber said city officials failed to act on crime problems that have been obvious in Lancaster, and he used the term ``terrorist'' for their tactics in 2003 when they told homeowners that streetlights would be turned off in neighborhoods where property owners rejected a fee increase.

The fact that 16 candidates signed up to run in the city election is a sign that the city is ready for a change, he said.

``We all know it's time for a change,'' Abber said.

Hearns, who has been on the council since 1990, said city officials are taking steps to solve problems in the city. Challengers who assert they will make big changes are overlooking the reality that they don't work alone, he said.

Hearns said his political record tells his story.

``You have to be able to build a team,'' Hearns said. ``All these things have to be done as a team effort. I am a team player.''

Mayoral candidate Paul said he decided to run because he has been trying unsuccessfully to interest Lancaster officials in what he calls his ``human accountability project.'' He described his idea as ``getting everybody simultaneously willing to be better people.''

He said his proposal could solve problems that include unsafe driving and allowing pet dogs to run loose.

``I don't blame the city for problems that are national problems. We need to get a handle on the real problems rather than just fixing the symptoms,'' he said.

Ware said he wants to be mayor because he is concerned about his children's safety, education and future. Too many Lancaster residents have been idle and let the community stagnate, with Palmdale pulling ahead in many areas, he said.

Lancaster residents need to be re-engaged in the community, Ware said.

``We all need to get involved in our community again,'' Ware said. ``I'd like to be the voice that moves Lancaster forward.''

Sileo said during his four years on the council the city has added deputies to reduce routine response times by 25 percent, created a sheriff's unit to combat crime in rental property and recently helped get state parole officials to reduce the number of parolees in the Antelope Valley and to fit high-risk sex offenders with Global Positioning System tracking devices.

The council will amend the municipal budget to add building-code inspectors and community service officers who will relieve deputies of taking minor reports and other mundane tasks,'' Sileo said.

``I believe I understand the issues facing our city better,'' Sileo said about other council candidates.

Smith, the city Planning Commission chairman, said he moved to Lancaster with his wife in 1987 to raise a family. He said he wants to engage good citizens to be more involved in running the city, and he wants to legally run the criminal element out of the Antelope Valley.

Criminals can be encouraged to leave by citing them for even minor offenses, such as not having vehicle license plates or for keeping trash around their homes, Smith said.

``We have to make it miserable for them,'' Smith said.

Crawford, the Eastside School District board president, said city government needs to do more to keep paroled sex offenders out of the city. City officials should also make sure roads, sewers, post offices and other public services are in place before allowing more homes to be built, said Crawford, who grew up on an east Lancaster farm.

``The citizens of Lancaster are ready for a fresh perspective,'' Crawford told the forum crowd. ``I am here today to show you I am a proven leader in our community.''

Price said he supports bettering Lancaster's economic climate and making the community safer, but he also wants to improve what he calls the ``social infrastructure.''

``We're not focusing enough on the social concerns of the citizens,'' Price said.

Lancaster could open sheriff's substations, create neighborhood councils and also take steps to improve communication between community residents and law-enforcement officials, he said.

Abedejos said he believes city government should promote Neighborhood Watch programs and enforce its teen curfew, saying he sees teenagers out on the streets at 2 a.m.:

``As a result of that, we have attacks, and we have graffiti,'' Abedejos said.

Abedejos said if he is elected to the council he will get out among the people to seek their views.

``I'm not going to just sit in my office and wait,'' he said.

Charles F. Bostwick, [phone]

chuck.bostwick(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

11 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Moderator Mark Archuleta introduces the candidates Tuesday at their first forum before the April municipal election.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer

(2) HEARNS

(3) GAYNOR

(4) CRAWFORD

(5) ABBER

(6) ABADEJOS

(7) WARE

(8) SMITH

(9) PRICE

(10) PAUL

(11) SILEO