Politics & Government

Novato Councilman Tosses Hat into Race to Represent San Rafael in State Senate

Eric Lucan hopes to take over for Noreen Evans, who has served as Marin's caretaker rep in the State Senate due to redistricting.

By Gideon Rubin
The man who would be Novato's next mayor wants to go to Sacramento to represent Larkspur and Corte Madera in the State Senate.

Novato Mayor Pro Tem Eric Lucan, a first-term city councilman, announced his candidacy this week to represent the Twin Cities in the state senate. Lucan hopes to represent Senate District 2, which stretches from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border, as a Democrat. He announced his candidacy on his new campaign website.

“I am launching my campaign today in the hopes of serving the people of this diverse and beautiful district," Lucan said in a statement. "I look forward to a conversation about our shared values and about creative ideas to help our workers, schools, communities, small businesses, and the environment.

“On this campaign, I will seek to listen, learn and have a real dialogue with the voters I meet along the way.”

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Lucan touted his experience on regional transportation issues in his statement. He served on the board of Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) and the Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM).

If his announcement is any indication, Lucan appears to be positioning himself as an environmental-oriented budget hawk. He cited erasing a multi-million dollar budget deficit, a measure to phase out Styrofoam and protecting parks and open spaces among his most significant accomplishments on the Novato City Council.

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He's already garnered the endorsements of Marin County Supervisor Judy Arnold and Novato Councilmember Denise Athas.

“Eric Lucan has established himself as a regional leader through his hard work, collaborative approach and innovative ideas," Arnold said in a statement. "He will be a strong representative for all the communities in this district. I am proud to endorse him for State Senate.” 

Lucan joins an as-yet-uncrowded field of contenders, as 36-year-old Arcata resident Chris Lehman is the only person to have filed paperwork with the California Secretary of State to run for the Senate seat. San Rafael Councilman Damon Connolly has been tipped as a possible candidate as well.

If elected, Lucan would step represent the 2nd Senatorial District, which currently includes all or parts of Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Marin, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties. Due to redistricting, the lines will be somewhat different in 2014.

Democrat Noreen Evans became the caretaker state senator for Marin in January after a period in which Marin had no representative in the State Senate. In an odd twist, the Senate rules committee appointed Evans as the caretaker representative for Marin and parts of Sonoma County that previously were represented by Mark Leno, a Democrat from San Francisco. Redistricting went into effect Jan. 7, moving those areas into state Senate District 2. Leno now represents only state Senate District 11.

In August, Evans announced that she would retire when her term expires in November 2014. 


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