THANK-YOU BANNERS GET THE OK FEC SAYS SIGNS FOR MCKEON ARE LEGAL.

Byline: JUDY O'ROURKE Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA -- A city attorney who talked with federal election officials Thursday has determined the giant banners hanging throughout Santa Clarita thanking U.S. Rep. Howard ``Buck'' McKeon for introducing anti-Cemex mine legislation in Congress are legal.

No formal written advisory opinion will be issued by the Federal Elections Commission, whose staff members told the city it is not appropriate in this case.

``After hearing of concerns, the city consulted with the Federal Elections Commission and retains its opinions the banners were appropriate,'' said Sarah Gorman, an election law specialist with the City Attorney's Office.

Gorman declined to elaborate but said a written request had been sent to the agency. The agency noted no complaints had been received.

The message on 14 large banners hanging around town proclaims: Thank You, Buck, for HR 5471! No Mega Mining in Soledad Canyon. It refers to a bill McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, introduced in Congress in May that would cancel Cemex's lease to mine 56.1 million tons of sand and gravel -- a project the city has spent $6 million fighting -- and limit any future mining on the property to historic levels of 300,000 tons a year.

Some residents disagree with the city's stance, saying the banners appear to be misleading, a misuse of city funds, an illegal political endorsement or a violation of local sign codes.

McKeon's office has distanced the legislator from the flap over the banners, saying he had nothing to do with them, that they were solely the work of city officials.

Some interpret the message to mean the bill is a slam dunk, which is not so. Congress likely won't consider the measure until next year, and McKeon has acknowledged its chances of passage are slim.

The banners were intended to broadcast that neither the mine project nor the bill's outcome are final, Ortiz said Tuesday, and are part of a campaign to thank McKeon, pique interest in the issue and garner support for the bill. They were hung July 1 and will be removed before August, she added.

About 150,000 sets of postcards voicing support for the measure and urging California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer to support companion legislation in the U.S. Senate will be sent to all Santa Clarita Valley households and to some in the Antelope Valley, Ortiz said. The $5,000 cost for the banners and thousands spent on the postcards comes from the city's general fund, she said.

Officials at McKeon's office said they have received about 900 postcards so far. Feinstein has received about 700, and Boxer has gotten more than 1,000.

Feinstein has been working with the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the city, Boxer and McKeon on finding a solution. Boxer introduced legislation in the Senate in 2003 to terminate the company's leases in Soledad Canyon and to prohibit further sand and gravel mine leases there. McKeon had introduced a companion bill in the House, but neither bill went forward.

Ed Shalom, a 27-year Valencia resident, said he believes the banners are a misuse of city funds, with the city's seal lending an official imprimatur and implied over-all support for the candidate's views.

``The contribution (from) the city is indistinguishable from what campaign supporters of McKeon would do,'' he said.

``It raises the question regarding Buck's support for the war in Iraq, which is definitely having an effect on our young people, and raises the question if the city is endorsing Buck's position on these other issues at the same time.''

He has asked the city to provide written proof the signs are legal.

Bruce McFarland, who heads a local Democratic club, said the message seems to be an illegal political endorsement for McKeon, who is running for re-election in November, and plans to file a complaint with the FEC.

Ortiz said the banners, hung in the public right-of-way, do not violate city codes. While other entities are barred from posting banners on the bridges, the city is allowed to hang these signs, and others throughout the year that promote nonprofit events.

judy.orourke(at)dailynews.com

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The giant banners hanging throughout Santa Clarita thanking U .S. Rep. Howard ``Buck'' McKeon for introducing legislation banning mining are legal, according to a city attorney who talked with federal election officials Thursday.

David Crane/Staff Photographer