Noreen Evans relocates to Sebastopol, eying Sonoma County supervisor seat

Former state Sen. Noreen Evans has taken her biggest step yet in what appears to be a looming bid for a seat on the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, moving into the west county district represented by Supervisor Efren Carrillo.

Evans, 60, has moved into a Sebastopol house that she is renting and has put her east Santa Rosa home up for sale. Still, the former state legislator and Santa Rosa councilwoman refused to say that she had in fact decided to run, while acknowledging the move marked a strong sign she intends to do so.

'I realize that this is frustrating for some people, but this is a pretty life-changing event, so I'm still talking about it with my family and my supporters,' Evans said in an interview this week . 'I'm not naïve enough to think I can put my name on the ballot and my support will magically appear ... this will be a difficult and hard-fought campaign, so I want to make sure there's a depth of support out there — enough that I would be able to run a successful campaign.'

Potential rivals eying the seat, including Carrillo, have sharply criticized a potential bid by Evans for the 5th District seat. To be eligible to run, she had to move into the west county district and out of her Rincon Valley home, which falls in the 1st District represented by Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Susan Gorin, a friend and political ally. The 5th District takes in Sebastopol and the coast up to Mendocino County.

'I don't believe the 5th District needs another east Santa Rosa resident who comes out of the Fountaingrove or the McDonald Mansion areas as their representative on the Board of Supervisors,' said Carrillo, referring in sharp but indirect terms to the two other supervisors up for re-election next year — Gorin, who moved out of her Fountaingrove home to Oakmont, the 1st District, when she ran for supervisor in 2012, and Shirlee Zane, the 3rd District supervisor who lives in the stately McDonald Avenue neighborhood of Santa Rosa.

Zane and Gorin have launched their campaigns and begun raising money. Carrillo, 34, has not said whether he plans to run for re-election.

'I've not closed that door,' said Carrillo, who has held the 5th District seat since 2009. 'Until March comes, I certainly wouldn't discount it.'

The filing deadline for candidates vying for supervisor in the June 2016 primary is in mid-March.

Carrillo's indecision partly reflects lingering fallout from his 2013 predawn arrest outside a female neighbor's apartment. A jury last year found him not guilty of attempting to peek into the woman's home. The arrest was his second in two years, the first coming after an alcohol-fueled street fight in 2012 outside a San Diego night club. City prosecutors dropped that case, citing insufficient evidence and conflicting accounts of the brawl.

Carrillo acknowledged that he has not raised any money for a re-election bid and said he has not sought out a campaign consultant.

'I have not been actively campaigning; that sums it up entirely,' he said. 'Whether I'm in or not, there are talented individuals who already live in the 5th District who could well-represent it moving forward.'

The only person who has officially entered the race is Lynda Hopkins, a Forestville resident and independent farmer. She has not hired a political consultant, nor does she have any paid staff, but she has begun raising money on a political crowdfunding site. It shows the 32-year-old candidate has secured pledges worth $1,665 since she launched her campaign last month.

Also considering a run are Eric Koenigshofer, an Occidental attorney and one of Carrillo's closest advisers who represented the same district on the Board of Supervisors 35 years ago; Tawny Tesconi, a native of west Santa Rosa who was the county fair director for seven years and now leads the county's General Services Department; Dennis Rosatti, executive director of Sonoma County Conservation Action, the area's largest environmental organization; and Rue Furch, a former county planning commissioner who lost to Carrillo in 2008.

Rosatti said although he is not ready to withdraw his name from the field of potential candidates, he would back Evans.

'I'll support her when she announces; she brings a 20-year history of public service to the race and she's been a great arbiter of issues that carry great weight,' said Rosatti, referring to environmental protections Evans has championed. 'But I have not gotten absolute confirmation from her.'

Evans, an attorney who first served in the state Assembly and retired from the state Senate last year after a decade in the Legislature, argues that despite having to move into the district to run, she has long represented western Sonoma County during her tenure in state office. She said this week that she has met with political consultants and has been meeting with west county residents to hear about the issues they care about.

A San Francisco-based consulting group with past ties to Evans, Whitehurst-Mosher Campaign Strategy and Media, has set up an online crowdfunding page to raise money for Evans. That site shows that 41 people so far have pledged to donate a total of $3,473 to her campaign.

Evans said she has not hired a campaign consultant or conducted any polling.

A group of Evans' core supporters, including environmental and organized labor advocates, are urging her to run for supervisor. Some have set up a Facebook page called 'Draft Noreen Evans.'

'We're pushing her to make an announcement, we're ready to get to work,' said Jack Buckhorn, president of the North Bay Labor Council. 'She has a strong record on labor issues, she has name recognition and a proven track record in Sacramento ... all of that takes time to build, but she already has it.'

Without even declaring her run, Evans has also amassed early encouragement from some elected officials, including Windsor Town Councilwoman Deb Fudge. Caroline Bañuelos, president of the Sonoma County Latino Democratic Club, also said she has met with Evans and she plans to support her.

'We talked about the important issues facing this county involving the environmental and labor and Latino communities,' said Bañuelos, who previously supported Carrillo. 'I think she'll work hard on issues like fair wages and affordable housing, and I'm also looking for someone who will be able to oversee our independent auditor's office and take a hard look at critical incidents in the jail.'

Guy Conner, husband of the late state Senator Pat Wiggins, who Evans succeeded in office, said he also plans to support her.

'She has deep experience at the state and local level on environmental, labor and social justice issues that I care deeply about,' said Conner.

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

Editor's note: Jake Mackenzie, a Rohnert Park city councilman, is a political ally of Noreen Evans but said he has not voiced support for her as a potential 5th District Sonoma County supervisor. An earlier version of this story indicated he'd thrown his early support behind her.