WILDOMAR - Roger Le Clerc believes Riverside County is doing a fine job of representing the Wildomar area and he doesn't support incorporation.

But if area voters decide Feb. 5 to form a city, the 61-year-old city council candidate, a member of the county's Municipal Advisory Council, doesn't want to be left out.

"I want to be there for the selection of a city manager because he's going to be the person running things. I would want to be a part of selecting that person," said Le Clerc, a structural steel contractor who moved to the area six years ago.

Area voters will decide in February whether to incorporate and, if so, which of the 14 candidates should serve on the inaugural five-person council. 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, Bridgette Moore, Darrell Ruff, Marsha Swanson, Michael Tierney, Tim Underdown and Paul Williams.

Le Clerc moved to Wildomar, in part, because his steel business involves a lot of "banging and clanging."

He said he treasures the freedom that living in an unincorporated community provides and he is concerned that if the area becomes a city some of those freedoms, specifically related to his business operations and property rights, will be stripped away.

Serving on the advisory council has given Le Clerc a chance to stay informed on county government news and serve as a sort of community watchdog.

"I leave the ideas to the other guys," he said. "I'm watching to see that no one is doing something amiss."

He has three years left on his four-year term on the council and he said, half-seriously, that opposing cityhood means he is fighting for his job. Since the council is Wildomar's liaison to the county, it would be disbanded with cityhood.

"I really want to get the certificate that shows I served for four years," he said.

Le Clerc said his community service background includes volunteering for the Army in the mid-1960s, signing up with the California National Guard in the early 1970s and serving on a human affairs committee in San Clemente.

Le Clerc was prepped for that committee role by his participation in what he called a "long course" in city government. On the committee, Le Clerc said, he interviewed nonprofit organizations that requested funding from the city and made sure the organizations spent the money properly.

If selected to become a council member, Le Clerc said, he's not going to impose his personal beliefs on the community or try to turn the council seat into a stepping stone for future political ambitions.

The top issue facing the area, Le Clerc believes, is the February election itself, which he says is unnecessary and is being rushed to coincide with the presidential primary.

The community is not yet ready to become a city, he contends.

"It's plenty hungry, but I don't know if its heart is entirely mature," he said.

Another issue important to Le Clerc is the recent controversy about the proposal to build a homeless shelter near the library.

"There were hundreds of people opposed to it and one in favor. It was me," he said.

The opposition to the shelter shows that many residents of Wildomar are publicly supportive of people who are down and out, but eager to let other communities deal with those people, Le Clerc said.

He supported the homeless shelter idea because, as he says, "I'm a bleeding heart liberal. I support needle exchange and all those kinds of things. I want to do what's right - well, my concept of what's right."

As a councilman, he said, he would support adding a cold-weather homeless shelter that would accept men, women and children.

Another important issue for Le Clerc is flooding. He said it is going to be one of the most pressing priorities for the first city council to assure the public that it can deal with potential natural disasters.

"If serious flooding comes, I like having the county there to mop it up," he said.

The flat topography of the area and the history of flooding in Wildomar is a concern, he said.

If elected, he would thoroughly inspect the county's flood control plans and, if need be, modify them based on a commissioned study.

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

Editor's note: This is the eighth 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.