Evans, Allen raise $195,000 for legislative races

Noreen Evans and Michael Allen share more than the same campaign consultants, similar Web sites and mirror-image political views stressing green jobs and a clean environment.

The two Santa Rosa Democrats also have raised more money than their opponents seeking state Senate and Assembly seats.

Evans, who is running for the 2nd District Senate seat held by Pat Wiggins, raked in about $115,000 in the final six months of 2009, and after expenditures had just over $40,000 left in the bank on Dec. 31, according to state campaign records.

That puts her well ahead of her nearest opponent, Sonoma councilwoman and business owner Joanne Sanders, who brought in about $28,000, records show.

Allen, who is seeking the 7th District Assembly seat currently held by Evans, took in about $80,000 over the same period, bringing his total to just over $108,000. Allen had about $46,000 in the bank after expenses.

That puts him ahead of Michael Wilson, a Vallejo councilman and chief financial officer at ARC Inc. Architects of Benicia, who brought in $50,000, and former Santa Rosa councilman and business consultant Lee Pierce, who took in about $35,000.

It's still early in the race, with Tuesday the first day candidates could officially declare their intent to run for office. Candidates for the Senate seat have until March 17 to enter the fray; the deadline for the Assembly is March 12.

The fund-raising spigot should open up closer to the June 8 primary. But if early reports are an indication, interest in the North Bay's two main legislative seats is markedly down from past campaigns, as well as compared to current races in more hotly contested districts around California.

In 2004, Evans and Jim Leddy, then a Santa Rosa School Board member, set a spending record of $940,000 for a local Assembly race. The seat covers Sonoma, Napa and Solano counties.

Evans, who is termed out of the Assembly this year, said she hopes to avoid a repeat of that in her bid for the Senate.

"I hope it doesn't turn into a huge battle that is very costly. I don't think that's in anybody's interest," she said. "But of course, I'm going to raise and spend what I need to raise and spend."

Evans' 2010 Senate campaign raked in nearly $45,000 in contributions from political action committees, including many tied to labor unions, law enforcement and the wine industry. That amount represents 39 percent of her total to date.

Native American tribes kicked in $14,800, including a $6,000 contribution from the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, a Southern California tribe that is seeking to legalize Internet gambling.

Evans said she has not yet taken a position on the tribe's efforts, saying she hasn't "gone enough into the issue."

Evans' war chest includes $33,000 transferred from a committee she established to run for the Senate seat in 2014, in anticipation that Wiggins would win a second term of office. However, Wiggins dropped out of the campaign when concerns about her health were aired in the media.

Sanders, a Democrat who will face Evans in the June primary, said she has raised an additional $40,000 since Dec. 31 - leaving her with $60,000 on hand to spend.

Sanders criticized Evans' handling of budget issues as the state has grappled with historic deficits. Evans is chair of the Assembly Budget Committee and presided over a joint session of Assembly and Senate lawmakers last summer to address the budget hole, which at the time was pegged at $24 billion.

Sanders said Evans had a hand in crafting "the worst budget in the history of the state of California that stole money from local governments and took money away from schools at a time when our schools rank third from the bottom in the entire country."

"I just think I can do a better job," Sanders said.

Evans also is being challenged by Roseland School District trustee David Rosas, who did not file a campaign finance statement because he does not intend to raise or spend more than $1,000 on the race - the legal threshold to file such a report.

Perennial Republican candidate Lawrence Weisner also has entered the fray, but only raised $55 in the last six months of 2009, according to records.

Rob Muelrath, a Santa Rosa political consultant with ties to the agricultural, business and law enforcement communities, said he was "surprised by how little money Noreen has raised," saying it may reflect the electorate's sour view of incumbent politicians.

"I think people are tired of Sacramento," Muelrath said. "They're tired of the status quo."

But David McCuan, a political scientist at Sonoma State University, said the Senate race is Evans' to lose.

"Sanders' best hope is an Evans illness," McCuan said. "Anything short of that is tilting at fairy tales."