12 Vie for 4 Seats on Castaic Lake Board : Growth Issues Enliven Campaigns for Water Agency

Predictions of unprecedented population growth in the already booming Santa Clarita Valley and fears of water shortages have caused attention to focus on four political races that in most previous elections have gone largely unnoticed.

Twelve candidates are vying Nov. 4 for four seats on the board of the Castaic Lake Water Agency, a public body that had existed for more than 24 years in relative obscurity until January, when a bill broadening its powers was introduced in the state Legislature.

The agency delivers, through local purveyors, less than half of the water now used by the 103,000 residents who live in its 195-square-mile service area, which includes Castaic, Canyon Country, Newhall, Saugus, Valencia, Val Verde and a small section of Ventura County.

But, because the bill, signed by Gov. George Deukmejian this month, increases its ability to obtain water, the agency will be the major supplier of water to the area in the future. Even with the bill, a recent projection by Los Angeles County planners that the area’s population will more than double to 213,000 by the year 2000 raised questions about the agency’s ability to provide that water.

Focus on Issues

The possibility of water shortages and other growth-related issues attracted candidates to challenge the incumbents seeking reelection to the water agency board.

In the most hotly contested race, incumbent Charles J. Brogan, an environmental engineer, faces three opponents in his bid for a fourth term as a director at large. Challenging Brogan are insurance agent Andrew E. Martin, attorney Bill J. Thompson and Alvin Aaron Seldner, a certified financial planner. They are the only candidates who must campaign among all 52,657 registered voters in the agency’s service area.

In Division 1, which includes Canyon Country and part of Saugus, Kenneth Dean, a business executive, is seeking to unseat board President Mary R. Spring. In Division 2, the Newhall-Valencia area, incumbent Ernest L. Spencer, a retired engineer, is being challenged by J. Michael McGrath, superintendent of the Newhall School District, and Robert J. DiPrimio Sr., a water quality engineer. Incumbent H. Gil Callowhill, representing Division 3, which includes Castaic, Saugus and part of Valencia, faces small businessman Jeffrey Karl Burros and John Charles Auguste Simas.

Potentially Vulnerable

Both Callowhill, who has represented his division for nine years, and Brogan are seen as vulnerable because of their longevity on the board and because they opposed the bill broadening the agency’s powers.

The bill, written by Assemblywoman Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley), gives the agency board the authority to buy surplus state water, levy water connection fees on new housing units and revise a tax that is evenly distributed among taxpayers, whether or not they are provided with agency water. The measure also enlarges the seven-member board to include four non-elected representatives from water companies.

Brogan and Callowhill said they objected mainly to adding representatives of the water company as voting members of the board because of potential financial conflicts of interests. However, both said they are willing to work with the purveyors--Santa Clarita Water Co., Valencia Water Co., Los Angeles County Waterworks District No. 36 and Newhall County Water District--toward reaching equitable fee structures for consumers.

Spring, who favored the measure, said she believes the bill “is the best possible package of enabling legislation to bring more good-quality water into the Valley at a more equitable cost to all.”

Growth-Related Issues

Growth-related issues and water-quality issues also figure prominently in the campaigns of the incumbents and other candidates.

Brogan, 52, said he wants to ensure that the agency provides adequate water to accommodate growth. However, he said, the cost of any water the agency purchases should be distributed properly and equitably. Some people, who have paid for and dug their own wells, are not receiving agency water and, therefore, should not be charged for it, he said. He has lived in the Santa Clarita Valley for 20 years.

Among his opponents, Martin, 59, a Newhall resident since 1959, said he is concerned about the quality of water and what he termed “runaway development” in the area. He called the existing water board a “rubber-stamp” for developers who want to turn the Santa Clarita Valley into a “cement jungle.” If the agency board would refuse to provide the water, development would come to a swift halt, he said. Martin claims the water now being delivered to consumers is contaminated and that, if elected to the board, he would work toward improving the purity of water.

Valencia Law Practice

Also hoping to unseat Brogan is Thompson, 35, who has lived in Canyon Country 11 years and established his own law firm in Valencia four years ago. He said he believes he is more “progress-oriented” than the incumbent and that he looks forward to helping implement provisions in the new state bill, which he said is a good tool to use “to ensure we don’t run out of water.” The measure, Thompson said, contains sufficient protections to prevent conflicts of interest by purveyors. His main goal in seeking a board seat is to ensure an adequate supply of “good water for the future.”

Brogan’s third opponent, Seldner, 58, holds a degree in law and is a state-registered mechanical engineer. He has lived in the area eight years. Seldner said he believes that, once the Regional Planning Commission decides that a certain number of homes will be built, it is the water board’s duty to provide the water for new residents. The water board also must acquire sufficient reserve water in the event of a drought, he said, and he asserted that the state bill will give the agency the ability to provide it.

In Division 3, incumbent Callowhill, 72, who retired several years ago from his job with a water pump manufacturer, has been a Santa Clarita Valley resident since 1972. He said he believes population projections are “overly optimistic” because county planners have not allowed for dips in the economy. “We will meet the demand,” he said. The most challenging job facing the board, Callowhill said, is deciding when to purchase water from other sources at the proper time so that the board does not overspend taxpayers’ money. As for water purveyors, Callowhill said, now that they will be represented on the board, “We can sit down and bargain with them in good faith on the board instead of across the table.”

Resident 7 Years

An opponent, Burros, 30, owns a retail distributorship in Glendale dealing in mechanical parts and equipment used in water treatment. He has lived in the area more than seven years. He said his main reason for seeking a board seat is to try to obtain better-tasting water. “The water I get at home is terrible,” he said. The board’s biggest challenge is to bring better-quality water to the area and to meet the challenge of providing for the growth, Burros said. Having water purveyors on the board will make members, as a whole, more knowledgeable about the process of obtaining water, he said.

Simas, Callowhill’s other opponent, could not be reached.

In the Division 1 race, Spring, 59, has been a board member for five years. She was appointed to fill a one-year vacancy on the board, was elected to the board four years ago and is now seeking a second four-year term. She said the board has been involved in a lot of long-range planning “to provide water for this thirsty and fast-growing valley” and that she would like to see those plans carried to fruition.

Her opponent, Dean, 47, has lived in Canyon Country five years and said that, as a water board member, he wants to ensure that people are not assessed for water they are not receiving and that developers pay their fair share of providing water to new residents. The water board should be concerned about the toxic waste problem and about where water will be obtained in the event of a major drought, Dean said. Water, streets, parks and other services, he said, have been overlooked by county officials who “had their eyes totally closed about what was going to happen” when they approved so many housing developments in the area.

Division 2 Race

In Division 2, Ernest Spencer, 65, the incumbent, is a retired mechanical engineer. He is seeking a third term on the board. He said he is concerned that development has been allowed without concern for the area’s infrastructure and that new residents should bear the brunt of the cost of providing water created by the growth. “The people who have lived here for a while have already paid their share,” he said. Spencer said that the board has made contingency plans in the event of a drought. “We haven’t wandered around with our blindfolds on,” he said. Having representatives of water companies on the board “is the only way we can have one agency speaking to community needs,” Spencer said. “It is in their interests to see that the water to accommodate the growth is provided,” he said, referring to the companies.

McGrath declined to be interviewed. DiPrimio could not be reached despite repeated efforts.