RUNNER'S WIFE JOINS THE RACE WYMAN ALSO TO VIE IN 36TH.

LANCASTER - Assemblyman George Runner's wife, Sharon, and Assemblyman Phil Wyman, R-Tehachapi, have both declared their candidacy for the seat Runner must vacate next year.

The pair join a list of declared candidates that include Palmdale Councilman Mike Dispenza, a Republican; Ollie McCaulley, chairman of the California Minority GOP Coalition; and Democratic businessman Byron Bostic.

Both Sharon Runner and Wyman, in their announcements, stressed their experience in Sacramento.

``I know a lot of people in the Capitol,'' said Sharon Runner, a member of the Antelope Valley Fair Board. ``I know the process. I think that's a great advantage, especially with term limits. I can bring continuity.''

Facing a March 2002 primary, the candidates are seeking to represent an Assembly district that until last week covered the Antelope Valley south of the Kern County line and Santa Clarita.

Last week, in reaction to 2000 Census population growth, state lawmakers approved new boundaries that take in most of the Antelope Valley and part of the Victor Valley in San Bernardino County, but exclude Santa Clarita.

The district's voters are nearly 45 percent Republican and 37 percent Democrat. No Democrat has been elected from the Antelope Valley to Sacramento since 1974.

George Runner is barred from running for a fourth term in 2002 by the state term limits law.

At his announcement in Palmdale, Wyman spoke in favor of improving Highway 138, building a new highway connecting the Antelope and Victor valleys, and preserving High Desert military bases.

``I am running for re-election to continue the fight for reform in Sacramento,'' Wyman said. ``State government continues to grow too much. It's too greedy, too impersonal.''

Wyman said he has endorsements from 16 Republican Assembly members, the California Rifle and Pistol Association, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and other organizations.

``Phil's the largest voice in Sacramento about family values, about morality, about (doing) the right thing,'' said Assemblyman Dennis Mountjoy, R-Arcadia, who drove to Palmdale for the announcement.

Outside Wyman's news conference at Cascades Restaurant, two Sharon Runner supporters carried signs advising Wyman to ``Go run in your own district.''

Wyman, a Tehachapi resident, had represented eastern Kern County and the desert portion of San Bernardino County as the 34th District assemblyman.

But the revised boundaries approved by lawmakers last week shifted the district into Tulare County and moved his Tehachapi home into a district centered in Bakersfield.

``The only district that really reflects the concerns and issues that I an concerned with addressing, and the reason that I came back to office, is the 36th District,'' Wyman said.

Wyman said he will move into a residence in the Victorville area, which is inside the borders of both the old 34th District and the new 36th District.

Wyman, 56, represented the Antelope Valley in the state Assembly from 1978 to 1992, then served in the state Senate from 1993 to 1994. He was elected to the 34th District seat in 2000.

``People want experienced leadership - folks they can trust, that have good judgment,'' Wyman said.

Sharon Runner said she plans to continue her husband's efforts to press for funding to widen the Antelope Valley Freeway and Highway 138.

Runner, like her husband, also wants to restructure funding for schools to try to bring in more dollars for area schools.

Although she has never served in an elected office, Sharon Runner said she is a political veteran, working in behind-the-scenes roles in numerous campaigns, including the 1996 presidential bid by Sen. Bob Dole and the 2000 Bush campaign.

She was a delegate at both the 1996 and 2000 Republican National Conventions.

During the 2000 Bush campaign, Sharon Runner served as area co- chairwoman for Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

She serves as director of community relations for Desert Christian Schools in Lancaster.

Besides serving on the fair board, an appointive state office, she also serves on the boards of a number of civic and charitable organizations, including the United Way, the Antelope Valley Hospital Gift Foundation, and the Antelope Valley Crime Task Force.

Sharon Runner cites endorsements from Antelope Valley civic and political leaders who include Lancaster's vice mayor and three city councilmen, four Antelope Valley Hospital directors, a number of school trustees, state Sen. W.J. ``Pete'' Knight, eight other state senators, six Assembly members and her husband.