Efren Carrillo announcement appears to stake out re-election bid

Sonoma County Supervisor Efren Carrillo stood before a crowd of more than 200 people Wednesday morning and announced his intent to run for re-election in 2016.

As word of his remarks surfaced hours later, however, Carrillo quickly backpedaled from his announcement, saying in an interview that his comments - at a monthly meeting of the Sonoma County Alliance, the business coalition - were merely in jest.

“I was at the breakfast, and I thought I’d go a little ‘off-mic’ in my introduction,” Carrillo said by phone after the meeting. “I did announce myself as District 5 supervisor and also candidate for 5th District supervisor in 2016.”

The remarks were not serious, he insisted.

“I was just having a little fun,” Carrillo said. “I have not made any plans to run or not to run.”

Still, the self-introduction, which came before an audience including elected officials, aspiring local politicians and business leaders at the banquet room in the Santa Rosa Golf and Country Club, appeared to strike many people as genuine. It came in the course of about 20 other candidates introducing themselves, and Carrillo’s remarks drew strong applause, according to people who attended the breakfast.

“It sounded like a formal announcement to me,” said Eric Ziedrich, president of Healdsburg Lumber Co. and one of three candidates running for two open seats on the Healdsburg City Council. Ziedrich introduced himself within minutes of Carrillo. “He certainly got support from the room.”

Others said that given the number of people introducing themselves and in some cases, sharing their political aspirations for city council, school board or other elected office, Carrillo’s remarks didn’t come off as a clear declaration that he will run for a third term on the Board of Supervisors.

“I really didn’t take it as a formal announcement,” said Lisa Wittke Schaffner, former chief executive officer of the Sonoma County Alliance, who is seeking to regain her seat on the Sonoma County Board of Education. “I’ve known Efren for a long time, and I thought he was joking.”

Carrillo’s comments are likely to add to the speculation about his political career, which has been shadowed by his arrest last year and subsequent trial on a misdemeanor charge of peeking into the home of a female neighbor in the pre-dawn hours last July 13 while clad only in his underwear and socks. He was acquitted of attempted peeking, but his admissions of a long-term drinking problem and hope to have sex that night with his neighbor, a woman he barely knew, diminished what once looked to be a bright future in the Democratic Party. It also led to widening calls for his resignation, including a unanimous one from his colleagues on the Board of Supervisors.

Carrillo - who has apologized for his behavior, which he called “a foolish and unfortunate act” - has said he has no plans to resign. He has not publicly shared whether he would seek another term representing his west county district, which stretches from Sebastopol north along the coast to Mendocino County. In the brief phone interview Wednesday, he stressed that he had not made up his mind.

“My focus right now is the day-to-day work in my district and as supervisor,” he said.

But some said they left Wednesday’s meeting with the conclusion that he intends to run again.

“I certainly believed him,” said Santa Rosa City Councilwoman Erin Carlstrom, who was in the room at the time.

Political observers differed on whether Carrillo’s announcement was an unscripted moment prompted by others in the audience sharing their own plans or a casual attempt to stake out ground for a re-election bid.

“If a bunch of candidates are standing up and announcing they’ll run, Efren may have been riding that wave,” said Brian Sobel, a political analyst and former Petaluma city councilman who follows election trends in Sonoma County and tracks candidates. “Efren also has a good sense of humor, so was he really announcing his intent to run again for public office? It’s hard to say.”

But David McCuan, a Sonoma State University political science professor, said such comments are rarely unscripted.

“Politicians think everything through - Carrillo never left the political stage,” McCuan said. “He’s trying to rebuild his reputation, and this is him testing the waters for his re-election prospects.”

The development comes as talk of a recall effort against Carrillo has faded. With two years until the election for the 5th District seat, no one has announced plans to challenge Carrillo. The 33-year-old supervisor handily defeated Ernie Carpenter, a former 5th District supervisor, in the 2012 election.

Carrillo’s potential rivals include Rue Furch, a former county planning commissioner who lost in a runoff against Carrillo in 2008, and state Sen. Noreen Evans, who is not running for re-election. Neither has ruled out the idea of a 2016 run for county office.

“It’s way too soon to consider it right now,” Evans said Thursday. “I’m finishing my time as state senator.”

McCuan said if Evans decides to run, the former Santa Rosa city councilwoman, who has called on Carrillo to resign, has the best shot to beat him.

“There’s little organized and coherent opposition that could run against him, but if there were someone, Noreen is the type who could put up a formidable challenge to Efren in a serious way,” McCuan said. “It’s not surprising that he would consider himself in a really strong position to run for re-election. He can raise a lot of money, and he has a level of support behind him.”

Schaffner, who ran the Alliance for nearly eight years, said Carrillo’s comments came before a crowd with many of his allies and supporters. The business coalition backed Carrillo in the 2008 and 2012 races.

“There were lots of people in the audience who are in support of Efren, and they’ve remained supportive since the day he was elected,” Schaffner said. “That includes me, although the Sonoma County Alliance has made no formal endorsement of Efren. It’s too early.”

Lisa Maldonado, executive director of the North Bay Labor Council, which has called on Carrillo to resign, said she learned of the announcement on Facebook.

“I heard he might run, and I just think his breach of ethics is disrespectful to voters. We will not support him,” she said. “I’m not surprised that this whole thing is a joke to him.”

You can reach Staff Writer Angela Hart at 526-8503 or angela.hart@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ahartreports.