Efren Carrillo won't seek re-election to Sonoma County Board of Supervisors

Supervisor Efren Carrillo, who emerged eight years ago as an ambitious and omnipresent Sonoma County politician with eyes on statewide office before two alcohol-fueled arrests set back his rising political career, announced Wednesday that he will not seek re-election and will leave his office representing west county when his term expires at the end of the year.

Carrillo, who was appointed chairman of the Board of Supervisors this month, made the announcement in front of an estimated 500 people in Rohnert Park at the annual State of Sonoma County breakfast, where he delivered a speech on the state of the local economy. He told the crowd that it is his “great honor to steer the board as chair during my eighth and final year serving as the 5th District supervisor.”

In a follow-up interview, Carrillo said his highly anticipated decision was driven by the arrival of his newborn son and a desire to spend more time with his family. He also acknowledged the political turmoil he encountered after his arrests in 2012 and 2013.

“I've had my fair share of challenges, not only on this board, but also personal challenges to overcome. I do my best to deal with those challenges on a daily basis,” said Carrillo, who entered a rehabilitation center for a five-week treatment program for alcohol addiction after he bailed out of jail in 2013. “When you're running for election, a challenge of running a successful campaign is you have to be able to commit fully. You have to be willing to give things up. Right now, for me, my priorities are my young family and representing this district with the same vigor and dedication that I had as a 26-year-old candidate in 2008.”

Carrillo's move represents a remarkable, though prolonged fall for the 34-year-old supervisor. He was a rising Latino star in the state's Democratic Party when he showed up on the political scene in 2008 as a Sonoma County-raised, UC Berkeley-educated candidate for public office. Twice he won election to the Board of Supervisors, most recently in 2012 when he handily defeated his rivals in the primary election with nearly 60 percent of the vote.

Carrillo's strongest supporters said on Wednesday that they were shocked and saddened to hear he would not run for re-election.

“I'm stunned … you've caught me in an emotional moment,” said Herman J. Hernandez, president of Los Cien, the county's largest Latino leadership group. “There is no doubt it was a sad moment to hear that this will be Efren Carrillo's final year. What came to mind immediately is what he has done to inspire and elevate the Latino community in getting involved in every facet of our community.”

But the legal troubles in Carrillo's second term - including a high-profile misdemeanor prowling arrest and acquittal on attempted peeking charges for allegedly attempting to look into his female neighbor's home - dimmed his once bright political prospects.

Carrillo's most vocal critics said they were glad Carrillo made the announcement because it finally quells speculation about his future plans, opening up the 5th District race to other candidates eying the west county seat. The 5th District takes in Sebastopol and the coast up to Mendocino County.

“I think now the people in the 5th District will have an opportunity to look for a supervisor who will speak for the people in the district,” said Alice Chan, a Sebastopol-based Democratic Party activist who after Carrillo's 2013 arrest led an unsuccessful recall campaign to unseat him. “I've said all along that the person who sits on the Board of Supervisors and who helps oversee a budget the size of Sonoma County's needs to be capable of making good decisions. We didn't have that sense after that arrest because it called into his question his judgment in his role as supervisor.”

The move, however, was not unexpected. While he was tight-lipped in recent months about his re-election plans, he had raised no money and he was even encouraging others to run for his office.

“Regardless of what happened in the courts, in the political realm and in public opinion, his arrest and the peeking charges absolutely harmed him,” said David McCuan, a Sonoma State University political scientist. “Even someone as politically gifted as him could not come back from that.”

Meanwhile, the race for the 5th District seat is heating up. Former state Sen. Noreen Evans jumped into the race on Jan. 12, and Lynda Hopkins, a Forestville resident and independent farmer, announced her bid for Carrillo's seat about two months ago. Eric Koenigshofer, an Occidental attorney and former county supervisor who represented the 5th District on the board 35 years ago, indicated he will enter the race if Carrillo does not run. He would not make his entrance into the race official Wednesday, but he signaled that he intends to make that announcement soon.

Some of Carrillo's colleagues on the Board of Supervisors, who were present when he made the announcement, said they were not surprised.

“Those of us who follow this stuff could see it coming,” said Supervisor David Rabbitt. “It has been a pleasure to serve with him.”

But Supervisor Shirlee Zane, who previously had called vehemently on Carrillo to resign, had the opposite reaction.

“I honestly did not know what he was going to do,” said Zane, who became emotional while recounting Carrillo's political tumult. “I will miss him. ... He has been more than a colleague, he has been my friend. Politics can get ugly; friendship and forgiveness are so much deeper.”

Carrillo would not say what he plans to do next, but he did not rule out a future bid for political office.

“My immediate focus is my family and fulfilling a successful second term, but I would never discount elected office in any capacity,” Carrillo said. “No individual who cares about the community should ever rule out serving the public.”

But any climb back into politics could be difficult considering the high-profile legal problems Carrillo has faced.

Carrillo was detained in July 2013 by police officers in the predawn hours outside his Santa Rosa apartment and taken into custody on suspicion of burglary and prowling. A female neighbor had twice called 911 to report a man outside her apartment, saying she was awakened by the sound of rustling blinds at her bedroom window. Carrillo was found wearing just his underwear and socks and later said he had gone to his neighbor's apartment in a bid to have sex with the woman, a near stranger.

After his arrest, he lost major leadership posts, including as Sonoma County's representative on a statewide association of California counties, and was passed over for other key positions, including a board post on Sonoma Clean Power, the public electricity supplier (he is now back on that board). Most notably, Carrillo was no longer mentioned among those in the running for two open North Coast seats in the state Legislature. Before his arrest, he was widely speculated to be a front-runner among local candidates seeking state office.

In September 2012, he was arrested in another early morning police call. Charges from that incident - a fight outside a downtown San Diego nightclub on Labor Day that left a man unconscious - were later dropped by prosecutors.

In an interview Wednesday, Carrillo acknowledged those arrests.

“The past two and a half years have presented challenges for me in my personal life,” Carrillo said, adding that the decision of whether to run has presented him with “great difficulty.”

“But I take every experience as an opportunity to learn and be a better individual for it,” he said. “I am turning the page on this particular chapter, and I believe change is good.”

Carrillo when he entered politics represented something new for Sonoma County and his district, which is growing increasingly Latino. At 27, he was young, and the first Latino ever elected to countywide office.

Carrillo is the son of Mexican immigrants, a Santa Rosa High School graduate, and fluent Spanish speaker who is comfortable having meetings and discussing issues in Spanish with constituents. During his ascent, he won support from the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Sonoma County Latino Democratic Club.

“He has been a tremendous leader and he has become an inspiration in our Latino community for people who want to take a step forward and make a difference,” Hernandez said. “He brought energy and freshness to our district, and he was someone who had his finger on the pulse of our community. There were tears in my eyes when he made his announcement today.”

Carrillo acknowledged his achievements both politically and on policy issues, from preservation of open space, to alternative energy initiatives, to redevelopment of Roseland into a vibrant mixed-use development. He also said he feels it's important to have someone who is Latino continue serving the district.

“I think it's very important,” he said. “Having diversity and people from a different background is good. I may have been the first, but I certainly am not the last.”

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