Two political veterans considering run for Efren Carrillo's Sonoma County Board of Supervisors seat
Two seasoned veterans in Sonoma County politics are emerging as contenders in a crowded field of potential candidates for the 5th District supervisor seat held by Efren Carrillo.
Noreen Evans, an attorney and former Santa Rosa councilwoman who retired from the state Senate last year after a decade in the Legislature, is positioning herself for a possible bid for the seat, as is Occidental attorney Eric Koenigshofer, who represented the same district on the Board of Supervisors 35 years ago and is one of Carrillo’s closest advisers.
Carrillo’s second term representing the west county expires at the end of next year. He has not said whether he plans to run for re-election.
Evans, 60, said she is seriously considering a run for supervisor, saying her year away from political office has given her fresh perspective and a renewed interest in local politics.
“Over the 10 years I spent in the state Legislature, I began to realize that real change happens locally, and I can see that there’s a lot of work that needs to get done here on issues I care about - climate change, for example, coastal protection, housing,” Evans said.
To run, she would have to move into the 5th District and out of the Rincon Valley home she purchased earlier this year. Evans said she is searching for housing in the west county district but wasn’t ready to announce a bid until she had lined up the political support necessary to run a strong campaign.
“I’m talking to potential supporters - financial and political - and finding out what people think,” Evans said. “I’m not worried about fundraising. My question is: Do people want me to run?”
Koenigshofer, 65, who represents the Ratto Group, the county’s dominant garbage hauler, said Thursday that he is planning to run if Carrillo does not. He represented the west county for a single term on the Board of Supervisors in the late 1970s and said his interest in the seat has been fueled by his continued roles in the public arena, including posts on county advisory panels weighing winery development and civilian oversight of law enforcement.
“Even when I stepped down from the board, I never left local government,” Koenigshofer said. “I have deep roots in this district and this county.”
The jockeying by Evans and Koenigshofer, along with a handful of other potential candidates who are less experienced with political office, reflects the uncertainty over Carrillo’s plans and the lingering fallout from his 2013 predawn arrest, when he was found in his underwear and socks outside his female neighbor’s apartment.
A jury last year found him not guilty of attempting to peek into the woman’s home, but the court case, in which he blamed his behavior on a toxic mix of alcohol and arrogance, cast a cloud over his political career and raised doubts about his ability to hold on to the west county seat. Carrillo’s former neighbor sued him for $2.5 million over the incident. That case has yet to be resolved.
Carrillo, 34, did not return numerous calls last week requesting an interview about his intentions.
“Everyone is waiting to see what Efren is going to do,” said John Azevedo, president of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau, which has twice endorsed Carrillo. “Here we have an incumbent who we supported last time, but we don’t know what we’re going to do because he hasn’t said anything. I don’t understand what he’s waiting for.”
The filing deadline for candidates is not until March, but speculation is mounting about who could seek the 5th District seat. Also considering a run are 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; Rue Furch, a former county planning commissioner who lost to Carrillo in 2008; and Herman G. Hernandez, a first-term Sonoma County Office of Education board member.
Tesconi, 53, said she has consulted with political strategist Rob Muelrath, who ran Carrillo’s campaigns in 2008 and 2012, and made formal inquiries at the county about her ability to run for the office while serving in her current role as a department head answering to the Board of Supervisors.
“It’s my understanding that legally, I’m allowed to run,” Tesconi said. “But I’m still considering it. I’m wrestling because I love my job with the county, but I also think I could be a great leader.”
Rosatti, Furch and Hernandez also have yet to declare whether they will run, awaiting either Carrillo’s decision or for other names to shake out in the field.
UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: