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Politics & Government

Novato Mayor Pro Tem Tosses Hat into Senate Race

Eric Lucan has already garnered the backing of Marin County Supervisor Judy Arnold and Novato Councilmember Denise Athas.

The man who would be Novato's next mayor wants to go to Sacramento.

Novato Mayor Pro Tem Eric Lucan on Monday announced his candidacy for the state senate.

The first-term councilman will run to represent Senate District 2 as a Democrat. The coastal district stretches from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border.

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Lucan 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 prepared 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.

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

Lucan's announcement to seek state office comes three months before he was expected to be appointed Novato's next mayor. As the leading vote getter in the 2011 city council election, he was next in line to serve as the city's mayor, per accepted but unwritten protocol.

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 multimillion 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.

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 prepared statement. "He will be a strong representative for all the communities in this district. I am proud to endorse him for State Senate.”

Athas echoed those sentiments.

“I have served side-by-side with Eric and can tell you that no one will work harder, or do a better job incorporating local input into policy decisions,” she said. “His experience outside politics is also an asset, and makes him more effective. The State Senate could use more people like Eric.”

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.

Jim Welte contributed to this post.



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