Torliatt joins Sonoma County supervisor's race

Petaluma Mayor Pam Torliatt announced Wednesday she will seek election to the 2nd District seat on the Sonoma County board of supervisors.

The seat is being vacated by the retirement of Mike Kerns of Petaluma, who has represented the south county on the five-member board since 1998.

Torliatt, a councilwoman since 1996 who was elected mayor in 2008, joins Mike O'Brien, a Petaluma City Councilman from 2001 through January 2009, and Penngrove rancher and accountant John King as announced candidates for the June 2010 primary ballot.

Although the official filing deadline is not until February, two other potential candidates - both Petaluma City Council members - have expressed interest in the seat: civil attorney Mike Healy and Mike Harris, a manager at CrossCheck, a national check guarantee company.

If no one receives more than 50 percent of the vote in June, a runoff between the top two vote-getters will be held in November 2010. Torliatt's term as mayor ends in December 2010.

In announcing her candidacy for the non-partisan post, Torliatt, 42, said she is endorsed by Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma, Assemblywoman Noreen Evans,D-Santa Rosa, State Sen. Pat Wiggins, D-Santa Rosa, and State Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco.

Woolsey, in Torliatt's announcement, called the Petaluma native “hard-working, resourceful and progressive in her thinking.”

O'Brien, 55, a former CHP officer and now a fleet safety manager for North Bay Corp. waste disposal company, said Kerns endorses him.

“I don't think that my election would change the tone of the board,” he said. “We've had great leadership in Sonoma County with Mike Kerns and I think very closely to the way he does. I hope to continue that.”

King, 53, has advocated for clean and safe water for years, including challenging Rohnert Park's growth plans because of the impacts on nearby Penngrove. He couldn't be reached Wednesday.

Torliatt, who works part-time running a Petaluma cattle ranch with her boyfriend of eight years, has been in Petaluma city government since 1992 when she was appointed at age 25 as the youngest Planning Commissioner in Petaluma history. Four years later, she became the youngest person elected to the city council.

“I'm certainly someone who has a lot of experience at the local and regional level,” she said. “And we're facing a lot of issues at both of those levels.”

She cited unemployment, land-use issues and water as some of her top concerns, as did O'Brien.

“I'm really excited about running in this race and being out in the community, which is what I've always done as an elected official,” Torliatt said. “This is going to be a lot of fun and it's something that I really enjoy doing.”

The 2nd district includes all of Petaluma and Cotati, a portion of Rohnert Park and the unincorporated towns of Penngrove, Two Rock, Bloomfield and Valley Ford.