TEENS TAKE A POLITICAL STAND FOR THE GOP, AGAINST APATHY.

Byline: Kathleen Sweeney Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - In the final days before the election in possibly the closest presidential race since 1960, rain wasn't going to stop them from shouting their message.

At the corner of Valencia Boulevard and Soledad Canyon Road last Sunday afternoon, four Valencia High School senior girls waved Bush/Cheney campaign signs, handed out posters, bumper stickers and buttons, and yelled at passers-by for honks of support.

``We are feeling the honking,'' yelled Katye Castan, 17.

Castan, Meghan Bakshi, Lauren Campbell and Kristen Moyer, members of the Youth for Republican Party, represent a handful of Santa Clarita teens working to encourage people, especially eligible teens, to vote in next week's election.

The votes cast Tuesday affect their future, and they want to ensure a prosperous one, they said. For them, that means electing George W. Bush. Not just because they were raised Republican but because the Texas governor is personable, friendly, opposes abortion and supports education reform.

``He really cares about the issues,'' such as education, said Bakshi, who lives in a town where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats 38,042 to 25,279 in this election. ``What he's done for Texas has been very good.''

Though two of the four aren't old enough to vote, Bakshi, 17, chairwoman of the youth group, said it's important for teens to make the public aware that those in her generation are getting involved in politics.

``It's important for teens to get out there,'' she said. ``I think it's important that youth get the idea that it's important to vote.''

Santa Clarita Councilman Frank Ferry, the girls' government teacher and chairman of the Bush campaign for Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, said he tries to encourage all students, Republican, Democrat or independent, to get involved in the political process.

``My goal is to get them thinking about politics,'' he said, who claims he acts as the devil's advocate in the classroom and doesn't take any party's side. ``I take personal responsibility about getting kids involved.''

Involvement is important to teens like Bakshi, who spent the summer interning in state Assemblyman George Runner's office. Someday, she hopes the experience of campaigning during a presidential election and the internship will help toward a degree in political science, she said.

Moyer, 18, got involved while taking Ferry's class. She chose to stand in the rain Sunday to support Bush because she believes in his views on abortion and reducing the size of government.

``I have pretty strong opinions and beliefs,'' she said. ``I want to be able to vote for the people who will make good decisions for our country.''

Not only does students' involvement in politics get them interested in the decisions of future governments, but also encourage them to get involved in their community, Ferry said.

Because Castan got involved, she was recently named the student school board member.

The teacher contends the impact of being involved in governmental decisions and presidential elections will make a lasting memory.

Even if it doesn't, the four seniors standing on the corner Sunday got the attention of hundreds of residents who honked their horns and rolled down their windows to shout their support. That alone might just keeping them coming back to the polls.

``Those four girls will always vote in a presidential election and they'll get their friends to vote,'' Ferry said.

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2 photos

Photo:

(1) Valencia High students Meghan Bakshi and Kristen Moyer solicit support for the Republican presidential ticket in Sunday's rain.

(2) Republican activist Ed Colley hands a Bush/Cheney sign to a passing motorist along Valencia Boulevard on Sunday.

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News