All eyes on newcomer Carrillo and Furch

Efren Carrillo and Rue Furch, the leaders in Tuesday’s 5th District supervisorial race, were both up early Wednesday and talking politics.

Carrillo, 27, the frontrunner from West Santa Rosa with 4,420 votes (26 percent), and Furch, 62, the Sebastopol resident who ran second with 3,901 votes (23 percent), will clash in a Nov. 4 run-off election.

Carrillo, a political rookie who joined the race late in February, was at a 7 a.m. breakfast meeting, then off to work as a financial counselor with Redwood Credit Union.

Furch, a veteran Sonoma County planning commissioner, started a round of meetings with friends and political allies at 7 a.m., as well.

Results in the west county supervisor’s race were still coming in after midnight Tuesday.

Carrillo said he’ll enjoy some “quality time with my family” this week, but will be in campaign mode by the weekend, including an event in Forestville.

“We’re looking forward to establishing as strong a campaign as possible,” he said.

Political analyst Brian Sobel of Petaluma said the question of whether Tuesday’s vote marked the birth of a political star is still pending.

“We won’t know until November,” Sobel said. But Carrillo, affable, articulate and hard-working, is “a very impressive package.”

Furch has a datebook full of events to attend, including government meetings, fund-raisers and the Health and Harmony Fair this weekend. Her political strength, Furch said, lies in all the people she’s encountered in 16 years on the planning board and engaged in local issues.

“I feel like I have done something in the years I’ve put into the community,” she said.

Asked if the controversy over her non-payment of property taxes for five years hurt her campaign, Furch said: “There’s no way to know that.”

“I’ve done my best to explain the situation,” she said.

Observers say that Carrillo’s side is likely to exploit that issue in the ongoing campaign.

Carrillo, 27, had 26 percent of the vote in the 5th District, with all but one out of 86 precincts reporting. Furch, 62, was in second place with 23 percent.

Maddy Hirshfield, 57, legislative aide to Assemblywoman Patty Berg, was third with 17 percent of the vote.

The west county race was invigorated by the retirement of Supervisor Mike Reilly, who is stepping down after 12 years in office.

Carrillo, a consumer financial counselor with Redwood Credit Union, also is president of the board of Southwest Community Health Center. He received financial support from business and real estate groups and credit unions.

Furch, with 16 years on the county planning panel, got strong support from environmental organizations and an endorsement by Reilly.

Hirshfield, a former chairwoman of Sonoma County Democratic Central Committee, ran for west county supervisor in 1996, when she came in fifth of seven candidates with 8 percent of vote.