Wide-open race for county's 5th District supervisor

Eight west Sonoma County candidates are on the June 3 ballot for 5th District supervisor, the first time in 12 years the seat is open.

Incumbent Mike Reilly is stepping down when his term ends in January. Coupled with the retirement of Tim Smith in the central county district, this election is the first time in the post-World War II era that two open seats are at stake.

About 45,000 registered voters live in the west county, the biggest supervisorial district spanning from Highway 101 to the coast and from Lone Pine Road to Jenner.

With Sebastopol the only city in the district, the 5th District supervisor acts as a one-stop government office for some of the county’s toughest issues facing unincorporated communities such as Forestville, Guerne-ville, Bodega Bay and Sea Ranch.

In addition to handling county issues such as 2020 General Plan implementation, water supply and the effect of faltering county revenues on programs, the west county supervisor has some peculiar issues to contend with in the near future. They include gravel mining near the Russian River, rock quarry operations in Forestville, aging septic systems in river communities and road repair just about everywhere.

Over the past several months, the candidates have appeared at more than a dozen forums at which they’ve sometimes had less than 30 seconds to explain their positions on any number of topics.

At the most recent event in Sebastopol, candidate Maddy Hirshfield joked “we have done so many of these we can answer each other’s questions.”

With eight candidates, it seems likely there will be a run-off for the two top vote-getters in November because in order to win, one candidate needs more than 50 percent of the vote.

The last major candidate forum will be 7 to 9 p.m. Friday at Guerneville Elementary School, sponsored by Radio KGGV-FM.

Here are profiles of the candidates:

Efren Carrillo

Age: 27

Occupation: Consumer financial counselor with Redwood Credit Union.

Background: Grew up in Habitat for Humanity’s first Santa Rosa house. President of the board of Southwest Community Health Center.

Efren Carrillo, making his first run for public office, has some big yard placards to go with his big ambition.

His sand-and-sunburst style mini-billboards — the size of living room rugs — dot the west county. At 27, he wouldn’t be the youngest supervisor — that was Eric Koenigshofer at age 26 — but in this race all but one of his opponents are old enough to be his parents.

Radio and TV ads by opponent Jim Maresca attacking Carrillo as “the kid” in the race have prompted Carrillo to tackle the issue head-on.

He notes his local roots, pointing out that he grew up in Habitat for Humanity’s first house in Sonoma County and that he knows the community well through his profession as a financial counselor and as head of the Southwest Community Health Center board.

“I am labeled as the kid,” Carrillo said. “But I hope to bring a fresh perspective and to be a unifying force on health care, affordable housing and gang issues. I intend to be a listener and convener.”

If his message sounds reminiscent of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, it’s because there is a parallel that Carrillo admits he’s trying to draw. He mentions the spirit of the Obama presidential candidacy in just about every public appearance.

He is shunning the label of being an activist in the Latino community, preferring that his candidacy be viewed in terms of countywide issues that need to be addressed.

He favors preserving the environment, improving public safety, improving health care and managing growth. But his campaign comments are longer on articulation of issues than on proposals of solutions.

Rue Furch

Age: 62

Occupation: Sonoma County planning commissioner for 16 years.

Background: The Planning Commission’s staunchest advocate on environmental issues. Sometimes compromises but frequently votes in the minority. The only “no” vote on a key 2020 General Plan section.

With almost two decades of service on the Sonoma County Planning Commission representing the west county, Rue Furch is deeply experienced in issues that underlie growth management, such as water resources, zoning intricacies and land-use decisions.

Having attended scores of meetings on the 2020 General Plan, Furch probably could recite portions of the 900-page text backward.

But all of that county government experience has made her vulnerable to questions why she didn’t pay her property taxes for five years, and when she did, the money came through a loan from a developer, albeit one with green credentials. Although the issue was addressed in the campaign’s early stages, it continues to fuel speculation about how it will affect her chances for the office.

To date, only opponent Jim Maresca has made it an issue, saying in his radio ad that her property tax situation raises questions about Furch’s judgment. She often raises the issue herself in debates.

“There was never anything illegal about how I handled it,” she said in a candidates’ forum. “Our taxes were paid in full. Death and taxes, we can’t get away from them.”

Her diehard supporters in the ranks of west county environmental and politically progressive forces say they are sticking with her. She’s given time and energy to their causes so her tax problem is no reason to dump her now, they say.

“I moved here 38 years ago and I know how to think the next 50 years out,” she said. Supporters should “know that I work very hard, that I do my homework and I know how to get other supervisors’ votes.”

Maddy Hirshfield

Age: 57

Occupation: Legislative aide to Assemblywoman Patty Berg

Background: Former chairwoman of the Democratic Party Central Committee. Ran for west county supervisor in 1996, came in fifth of seven candidates with 8 percent of the vote.

This Maddy Hirshfield is different than the Maddy Hirshfield so ignominiously trounced 12 years ago, scoring fewer votes in the west county district than even a conservative businessman and a real estate agent.

Her campaign this time is built on the premise that, in the intervening years, she has established a broad range of professional connections that would benefit west county voters. Since then, the occupational therapist has worked on promoting universal health care, organizing health care workers, preserving agriculture and open space and advocating for local residents through her five-year position as state legislative aide.

She has a pile of endorsements from current and former leaders in Democratic Party and state Legislature, which she’s telling voters she intends to milk for their benefit.

“I am embracing my political side because that is who I am,” Hirshfield said. “If you don’t know how to function inside a politically charged environment, then you don’t know how to be effective.”

Yet her critics mumble that her endorsements make her the Sacramento insider in the race.

She responds that the breadth of her backing means her candidacy is focusing on a broad range of county issues, not just on the environment or water quality. Her message is a subtle dig at one of her major opponents in the contest, Rue Furch, who’s got the mantle of the environmentally correct candidate through big support from Conservation Action.

“Yes, I am a known quantity among government leaders, on-the-ground activists and unions,” Hirshfield said. “The diversity of my experience is reflected in the diversity of my support. I have relations that I will be able to tap into.”

Tom Lynch

Age: 50

Occupation: Builder and community activist

Background: Serves on the Russian River Oversight Committee, advisory panel on redevelopment projects. And, of course, he’s “Manure Man.”

Tom Lynch thinks so much of his moniker, the “Manure Man,” that he has it listed as his nickname on the election ballot.

Although the event that won him that notoriety occurred a quarter century ago, Lynch regards his act of disobedience as key to understanding his candidacy. As a protest against Santa Rosa’s release of sewage into the Russian River, Lynch dumped a tractor load of cow manure on the steps of City Hall.

Lynch says the west county supervisor should be a stronger voice for halting gravel mining near the Russian River, pushing for water conservation and restoring the Laguna de Santa Rosa.

“I am an activist, and I plan on moving the agenda,” Lynch said. “Of course, I will try to educate the other supervisors. But if they are not going to be part of a consensus toward a sustainable future, I will participate with active measures to change things including supporting lawsuits and other candidates of like mind to replace them.”

Citizens need an ombudsman to help them navigate through the government bureaucracy, particularly the county’s permit and planning department, he said.

Lynch is critical of county administrators for permitting the ranks of those making more than $100,000 annually to grow. He questions employee salary and benefit increases averaging 10 percent since 2000 while tax revenues are slumping and median household income has declined.

Lynch calls for a freeze on county spending and outsourcing some government functions to non-profits, volunteer groups and faith-based organizations.

“We are no longer in the 1960s,” he said. “We are in the midst of a transference of wealth that supervisors have yet to come to grips with.”

Jim Maresca

Age: 64

Occupation: Retired technology executive

Background: Monte Rio school board member 2003-2005. Straightened out finances at Russian River Chamber of Commerce. Served on county tourism commission.

As a business executive retired from the intense world of high-tech development, Jim Maresca doesn’t mind telling voters about the way government should operate.

During candidate forums and in his mailers, he bluntly criticizes incumbent supervisors for lacking management expertise and for spending money on “expensive consultants.”

His mailers featuring cartoonish men in business suits, wrapped in red tape, say a lot about Maresca’s view of major problems facing the county.

“The organizational structure of the county does not work when each department head reports to a five-headed monster,” Maresca said. “I believe that the lack of senior management experience on the part of any of the supervisors has led to a situation in which the county is not well managed.”

Maresca proposes formation of a commission aimed at changing the charter to allow election of a county executive to manage departments as an appointment, rather than election, of the sheriff and the auditor/controller.

He is particularly critical of the county Permit and Resource Management Department, which he feels “is not working and we have a management and a mission problem when it attempts to micromanage projects.”

His campaign got off to a wobbly start last year when he proposed that other candidates drop out because he could put $100,000 of his own money into a campaign.

Maresca said self-funding his campaign was necessary to introduce himself to voters. It has paid for mailers, as well as radio ads that criticize Rue Furch for failing to pay property taxes, chide Tom Lynch for dumping manure on City Hall steps and take a poke at Efren Carrillo for being too young for the post.

“One hit I got is that my wife and I have been able to fund my campaign,” Maresca said. “While some may think that is a negative, I don’t have to owe anybody any favors.”

Guy F. Smith

Age: 55

Occupation: Agricultural property manager.

Background: Board member of Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation.

Guy Smith is one of the few candidates in the 5th District race without a campaign Web site, without a campaign organization, without much of a campaign budget and without any literature.

Still, he shows up for every west county candidates’ forum, shakes every hand he can reach and says campaigning for office is simply a great experience.

“I have zero complaints about this campaign,” he told an audience in Sebastopol in summing up his first run for public office. “This is a great group of candidates.”

He said he’s taken aback by the amount of county budget-oriented minutiae that he’s had to become familiar with to compete in debates.

“I had no idea that I would have to concentrate so much on the budget,” he said.

Smith concedes he is probably “the moderate” in the contest populated by candidates who are vying for the right to claim the most credentials on environmental, anti-growth and progressive politics emblematic of west county voters.

Still, Smith says he’s not overwhelmed by the competition, adding, “I have made it this far with very little money.”

Eddie Alvarez

Age: 31

Occupation: Business owner and community volunteer

Background: Family owns Joyeria Maria, which had $6,000 in toys stolen last Christmastime before the holiday giveaway.

Eddie Alvarez says he’s dropped out of the race for west county supervisor. That, however, won’t prevent his name from appearing on the ballot.

Alvarez, whose family owns businesses in the Roseland neighborhood, including a jewelry store and a Mexican market, said he doesn’t want to split the vote of Latinos who might be divided between choosing him and Efren Carrillo. But he said he isn’t endorsing Carrillo.