VICTORIES A MESSAGE? CITY MANAGER SEES VOTE RESULTS AS A SIGN OF COMMUNITY SATISFACTION.

Byline: JUDY O'ROURKE Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Officials have interpreted a lackluster showing at the polls Tuesday, when three City Council members were re-elected, as a sign voters embrace the current lineup.

"Sometimes there's an attitude in the public of `throw the rascals out,"' City Manager Ken Pulskamp said Wednesday. "I'm pleased to see the voters were compelled to return the incumbents to office. It indicates satisfaction with the work the city is doing."

Eight challengers lined up in the unsuccessful attempt to oust the incumbents: Marsha McLean, Frank Ferry and Mayor Laurene Weste.

McLean touted accomplishments in her first four-year council term and campaigned hard, and it paid off with a first-place finish.

"I'm so pleased with the support across the board I received - from legislators, the business community, the education community, environmentalists and citizens," she said after the last vote was counted.

McLean is mayor pro tem and in line to be the next mayor.

After finishing fourth but well ahead of the pack, political newcomer Mark Hershey cannot wait until next time. If Councilman Cameron Smyth wins his bid for the state Assembly race in November, the council could appoint a successor, call a special election or operate with four members until the 2008 election.

Hershey said he would relish the appointment or would run in a special election if one is held.

"There was a pretty decent gap between me and the fifth-place finisher," he noted late Tuesday night. "It makes me feel good. Especially (with) Henry (Schultz). He has name recognition. He's run before."

Schultz came in fifth place in the race for three seats - 641 votes behind Hershey.

Ferry, who came in second despite ranking as the top fundraiser with more than $109,000 in contributions, said he plans to share leftover funds with up-and-comers.

"My goal was to finish in the top three and have half of my money in the bank (available to help) young people be (elected) to school boards," he said, noting $50,000 to $60,000 remains. State law would allow Ferry to donate the money to other candidates' campaign committees if a special election is held.

The Castaic and West Ranch town councils have taken exception to Ferry's successful push for a tiered fee schedule for city parks programs, forcing those living just outside Santa Clarita to pay more.

"I was asking them to set the proposal aside and talk with their neighbors, and see if we couldn't come up with a plan that would be palatable to everyone," said Dave Bossert, vice president of the West Ranch council.

Tacking on a small nonresident fee in a cooperative consensus-building way would have been preferable, he said.

"Unfortunately, the city seems to keep taking a tack of wanting to basically poke the unincorporated areas in the eye in how they're handling things."

About 30,000 people live in unincorporated areas in the Santa Clarita Valley, and they account for nearly half the people taking courses funded by city taxpayers.

Fewer voters cast ballots in Tuesday's municipal election than in the 2004 election, although about 5,000 more had registered in the interim.

About 13 percent of the city's registered voters - 10,526 people - voted. Of the city's 175,000 residents, about one in seven of the 79,000 who had registered bothered to vote.

A trend from the past three elections held; more people voted by mail than at the polls. About 5,800 people cast absentee ballots, while about 4,600 stepped into the booths. Voters were able to cast votes for three candidates.

The unofficial tallies will stand until the county registrar-recorder verifies signatures on about 1,000 absentee and provisional ballots. The standing among the three winners could shift, local officials said, but they do not expect the uncounted votes to catapult Hershey ahead of third-place finisher Weste, who unofficially garnered 736 more votes than he did.

judy.orourke(at)dailynews.com

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4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) FERRY

(2 -- color) WESTE

(3 -- color) McLEAN

(4 -- color) HERSHEY