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Faceless First

A covey of newcomers seek a seat in the 1st State Assembly District

By Bruce Robinson

The 1st Assembly District is one of the biggest in the state, but that's not why it has drawn such a large number of candidates this year. The combination of a departing incumbent, Dan Hauser, D-Arcata, and an unpredictable electorate has made the sprawling North Coast district an attractive target for a slew of opportunistic political hopefuls.

Eight candidates representing the two major parties appear on the March primary ballot, but only two of them have held elective office before: Republican Bonnie Neely, now in her third term as a Humboldt County supervisor, and former Democratic Assemblyman and ex-Rep. Doug Bosco of Sebastopol.

The rest of the field consists of labor attorney John Cumming of Eureka, mill worker Richard Marks of Samoa, business owner Karen Scott of Gualala, and teacher Virginia Strom-Martin of Duncan Mills, all Democrats; and accountant Steve Henricksen of Windsor and rancher Margie Handley of Willits, both Republicans.

No clear front-runner has yet emerged from either group, though Cumming--a relative unknown in the south portion of the district, has picked up crucial endorsements from former Rep. Dan Hamburg and the state Democratic Party.

In the crowded Democratic field, Bosco clearly is best known, but that's not entirely to his advantage, given Bosco's past leanings toward timber interests. "He has name recognition, but he's going to have to work hard," observes Gail Culverwell, chair of the Sonoma County Democratic Central Committee. "I see a great portion of that district being environmentally sensitive, and I would think that would be a cause for concern for Doug."

Hauser, who has held the seat for the past 14 years, but is being forced by the new term-limits law to step down, says that Bosco has not done the political fence-mending necessary to rebuild support within the party. "A number of Democrats would blame Doug for [Dan] Hamburg's defeat [in 1994], having wounded him in the primary," Hauser observes, "and I would think the people who were mad at him in 1990 are madder at him now."

That disaffection is implicit in the decision by the Democratic Party caucus to give its endorsement to Cumming, a party officer and labor lawyer from Eureka. "He's the kind of guy who would do his homework and take care of business, a workmanlike type of person," says longtime local Democratic activist David Thatcher. Thatcher sees Cumming's lack of elective experience as a drawback, but commends him as an "aggressive campaigner."

Education is the strong suit for Strom-Martin, a high school teacher with strong ties to the California Teachers Association. She has also won the endorsement of the National Women's Political Caucus, but is not well known outside of western Sonoma County and the teachers' union. Thatcher praises Strom-Martin as "an effective, well-informed, vocal leader," but fears her base of support is too narrow for this sprawling district.

Scott and Marks are widely seen as also-rans with little support even in their home counties. Scott challenged Hauser in the 1994 primary, purportedly to gain name recognition for her run this year, but that move also annoyed others in the party. Thatcher dismisses Scott as "a ridiculous candidate" who even failed in her stated aim of earning recognition two years ago.

As for Marks, his positions in support of the timber industry and school vouchers and against same-sex marriages set him apart from the rest of the field. "He's definitely marching to his own drummer," says Culverwell.

On the Republican side, all three candidates appear better positioned to make a strong run. Margie Handley, the owner of a Willits paving company, is running for a third time, having fallen short in two previous campaigns for a state Senate seat. "Margie barely lost to Mike Thompson a couple of years ago. She ran a pretty positive campaign and I think most voters remember that still," says Bill Gass, chairman of the Sonoma County Republican Central Committee.

Handley also boasts a sizable campaign war-chest, and while she draws significantly on her own financial resources, "I don't think she's using her own money to buy an office," states Santa Rosa attorney Glenn Smith, a former GOP county Central Committee member. "I've never met anyone who wanted to be elected to office so much, without any agenda," Smith says. "She just wants to go out there and do some good government."

Windsor businessman Steve Henricksen, who worked as an organizer in Paul Kelly's supervisorial campaign in the last election, "is the pick of the conservative Christian wing of the Central Committee, at least as far as Sonoma County is concerned," Smith notes. Henricksen is a member of the county Central Committee and the Sonoma County Fair Board.

At the other end of the GOP spectrum is Neely, described by Hauser as "a pro-choice moderate" who would "probably be the most formidable of the Republicans" in the race. Well known in her home county, she is just beginning to mount a campaign presence in the southern portions of the district. She is also trailing Handley's potent fundraising efforts by a reported 2-1 margin.

That is also a factor for the fragmented Democratic efforts, Hauser worries. "I think the Democrats are at a disadvantage because there hasn't been the work done over the past two to three years over voter registration or laying the fundraising base it takes to run in this district," he comments. He reports that the speculation in Sacramento is that Bosco "may win in the primary, because of the name recognition, but would certainly lose in the general because of the disaffected Democrats."

From the GOP perspective, "I think there has been enough of a shift in the electorate to elect a moderate Republican," Smith says, even though more than half of the district's registered voters are listed as Democrats.

"If the right candidate surfaces after the primary with the right message, it's likely that a lot of Democrats will cross over to support that candidate," Gass concurs. But if he or she "is perceived as an ultra-right wing conservative, I don't think that candidate has a chance."

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