Sonoma County Supervisor Efren Carrillo throws support to Lynda Hopkins, criticizes Noreen Evans
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/5524963-181/sonoma-county-supervisor-efren-carrillo?artslide=0
A war of words erupted Wednesday in the battle for Efren Carrillo’s Sonoma County supervisor seat after Carrillo released a written statement endorsing one of his would-be successors, political newcomer Lynda Hopkins, and strongly rebuked another rival for the seat, veteran North Coast legislator Noreen Evans.
Carrillo, who until Wednesday had yet to publicly weigh in on the candidates seeking to succeed him, described Evans as an ineffective “career politician who did not represent us well” in Sacramento.
“I will be blunt,” he said. “When our office needed advocacy for individuals or businesses with state agencies during her time in office, our attempts to seek help were met with referrals and little else.”
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Evans accused Carrillo of endorsing Hopkins and attacking her record as retaliation for calling on him to resign immediately after his 2014 trial. At the time, Carrillo’s colleagues on the Board of Supervisors and others in the community also called on him to step down.
“Two years ago, I and 23 other brave women asked Carrillo to resign after he terrorized a local woman,” Evans said in a post Wednesday evening on her Facebook page. “His bullying continues … While endorsing another candidate for 5th District supervisor, he scurrilously attempted to smear, diminish and belittle my record of public service because I dared to challenge him. Enough is enough.”
Evans ended her comment with the hashtag #endrapeculture, referring to a campaign that originated on college campuses to prevent sexual assault and harassment.
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Carrillo’s support of Hopkins appears to put her in a precarious political spot. Some of her top donors are former Carrillo supporters and her assistant campaign treasurer is Susan Upchurch, Carrillo’s longtime district director, according to campaign finance records.
It was unclear whether Hopkins sought or accepted Carrillo’s endorsement. He has not publicly endorsed political candidates since his arrest three years ago.
“This is Supervisor Carrillo trashing me for daring to call him on his predatory behavior a couple years ago,” Evans said. “Silence is acceptance, and silence is what allows rape culture to flourish. There is no place for it in our community…I think that anybody who wants to be a leader in this community needs to stand up for women.”
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