Editor's note: This is the 13th in a series of profiles on the 14 candidates seeking a council seat should Wildomar residents decide Feb. 5 that the community should become a city.

WILDOMAR -- Tim Underdown says he is a "big outdoors kind of guy."

Instead of watching a TV show in the evening, the 47-year-old equipment mechanic said he's more likely to be out in the community, getting involved with whatever is going on.

"For the last 10 years, I've volunteered for about everything you can imagine," said the city council candidate.

Underdown, president of Wildomar Little League, said he's not someone who thinks TV and video games are the best diversions and he's tried to share that view with his children, spurring them to get involved in the community as well.

"Teenagers grow up to be better adults by meeting people and seeing how other people live," he said. "They broaden their minds about how people are."

Underdown is one of 14 candidates seeking to serve on Wildomar's inaugural five-person council should voters decide on Feb. 5 to have the town incorporated. Voters also will be asked to decide if the council members should be elected on an at-large or a district basis. The other 13 candidates on the ballot are Sheryl Ade, Gary Andre, Steve Beutz, Martha Bridges, Bob Cashman, Harv Dykstra, Scott Farnam, Roger Le Clerc, Bridgette Moore, Darrell Ruff, Marsha Swanson, Michael Tierney and Paul Williams.

Underdown, a Wildomar resident for nearly 20 years, is running on a slate with Cashman and Moore.

The three candidates worked on bringing cityhood to a vote, so it seemed natural to team up for a council run, Underdown said.

He's heard there is a perception among some residents that the three, if elected, would dictate policy in the city because they would form a majority on the five-person council.

While he said he can see where that would be a concern, Underdown expects to see some "butting heads" on the council from time to time.

As president of the Little League, Underdown said he has learned how to deal with people, a skill that will come in handy on the council.

"I'm a pretty easygoing kind of guy and sometimes I'll be confronted by an angry parent," he said. "I just tell them, go home and rethink things, because there are some things you shouldn't say when you're angry."

The top issue facing the area, he contends, is public safety, particularly in regard to police service. The snack bar at the Little League fields, which were built by volunteers on land donated by the cemetery district, gets broken into from time to time, Underdown said.

Instead of sending someone out to investigate, Underdown said the Riverside County Sheriff's Department takes a report over the phone. He said he also has heard from residents who have called 911 and received a call two hours later from a dispatcher asking if everything is OK.

"The people of Wildomar deserve better police service," he said.

A few years ago, Wildomar voters rejected an assessment that would have paid for dedicated police and fire services.

Underdown said the assessment didn't pass because most people commute to jobs in Riverside or San Diego and they're not willing to go to community meetings and see what is going on.

He said there also is a group of residents, people that run mom-and-pop businesses from home, who are worried about stricter code enforcement hampering their livelihood.

Another important issue facing the area is growth, which Underdown said includes development and traffic.

"There's going to be development," he said. "If anyone running for council thinks we are going to stop growth, we're in it for the wrong reasons. It's going to happen."

Becoming a city allows residents to say how they want the growth to happen, he said.

"New development should fit our community," he said. "Traffic should be dealt with at the time of development. Developers have got to come in and pay for the roads. There's little room for negotiation there. If we're going to put in development, traffic has to be dealt with or then it's a nightmare."

Another important issue is community services, he said.

"All kids need a place to go and parents need a place to meet other parents," he said.

Seniors need something to do as well and it makes sense to focus on boosting services for seniors and children because they remain in the area while the parents are at work.

Building a community center, however, will be more difficult than building baseball parks, Underdown said, calling it a "big challenge."

It's going to take the community coming together and the city likely will incur some costs, he said.

Contact Aaron Claverie at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2624, or e-mail aclaverie@californian.com.