SANTA CLARITA / ANTELOPE VALLEY : ELECTIONS / ANTELOPE VALLEY : 2 Veteran GOP Politicians Plan to Vie for Rogers’ Seat in Senate

SACRAMENTO —  With two seasoned Republicans announcing they will go head-to-head in a state Senate contest next year, local figures are beginning to join in the political sport of musical chairs in the Antelope Valley.

Former state Sen. Phil Wyman (R-Hanford) and Assemblyman William J. (Pete) Knight (R-Palmdale) declared that they will compete for a chance to represent the strongly Republican 17th Senate District.

State Sen. Don Rogers (R-Tehachapi) has long held the 17th District seat but is being forced out next year by term limits. He is expected to stay neutral in the primary, declining to back one fellow GOP fiscal conservative over the other.

The vast district, encompassing one-fifth of California’s land mass but only 1/40th of its population, stretches from the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys into Inyo, Kern and San Bernardino counties. Most of its voters, however, live in the northern reaches of Los Angeles County.

Fast on the heels of the Wyman and Knight declarations was an announcement by Billy Pricer of Palmdale that he will seek the 36th Assembly District seat being vacated by Knight.

Pricer is a trustee of the Antelope Valley High School District who made a name for himself as the founder and executive director of United Community Action Network, a youth counseling organization that advocates greater parental and law enforcement control over truants.

That Election Day isn’t due for 19 months isn’t slowing the candidates any. They note that the primary, which promises to be bruising, will be moved up from June to March, 1996, to give California’s vote more weight in the presidential elections.

Wyman, 49, already offered a subtle dig Tuesday at the 64-year-old Knight’s seniority, which he apparently will highlight during the campaign.

Of Knight, Wyman said: “We’re friends and hope to keep the campaign on the level of who can best serve the district--given our ages and energy levels for eight years in the Senate.”

Wyman, a Tehachapi rancher, listed as his strong points some of the same themes cited Tuesday by Knight: fiscal conservatism, opposition to taxes, and emphasis on jobs growth in the Antelope Valley and beyond.

He also said he will fight to get a University of California campus located in the high desert, which is expected to grow in population from 800,000 to 1 million.

Wyman said he views his candidacy as a homecoming of sorts since he represented portions of the district during 14 years in the Assembly until 1992.

He spent the last two years in the state Senate representing the neighboring 16th District before getting ousted in November by former Democratic Assemblyman Jim Costa of Fresno.

As his assets, Knight lists his Assembly experience of the past two years, his pro-business stance and his support for tax-cutting.

He is fighting for funds for a county courthouse in Lancaster, leading the charge to establish tax advantages through an “enterprise zone” in Palmdale and helped lay the groundwork for a flood control district in the high desert.

“We need to continue our efforts to improve the economy and be supportive of business,” Knight said, lamenting the exodus of California’s “productive people,” which he defined as professional or retired residents who flee for lower costs and higher standards of living.

“When we lose the taxpayers, we are left with the tax recipients,” Knight said, declaring that he was the best candidate for the job of “sending a message to business and industry that California will do what it takes to help them stay.”