Three Assembly races in Pleasanton Three Assembly races in Pleasanton (October 22, 2004)

Four vie for open seats while incumbent faces challenger

Six candidates are running for election to the three Assembly districts in Pleasanton - the 15th, which covers eastern Pleasanton; the 18th, which encompasses about half the city north of First Street and Sunol Boulevard and west of Valley Avenue; and the 20th, which includes Vintage Hills, Kottinger Ranch, Ruby Hill and most of the neighborhoods south of First Street.

15th Assembly District: Guy Houston (Rep.) vs. Elaine Shaw (Dem.)

In the 15th, incumbent Republican Guy Houston is seeking re-election to a second four-year term. A close ally of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, he is a member of the Assembly's Banking and Finance and Labor and Employment committees and is vice chairman of the Transportation Committee. Born in Walnut Creek and raised in Pleasanton, where his parents still live, Houston went on to win election as mayor of Dublin.

"My priorities in the next session will be to work to get our state budget balanced," Houston said. "I voted for the last two budgets, where we have taken a $22 billion deficit and pared it down to $5 billion, which is still too much. So I will continue that effort."

Houston also said he opposes Propositions 68 and 70 on Indian gaming, adding that they would allow a proliferation of urban gaming and gambling that would be a disaster in the Bay Area. He said he also opposed Proposition 56, which would have lowered the two-thirds threshold for voter approval needed on bond measures, which his opponent Democrat Elaine Shaw favored.

Shaw, an attorney from Danville, is touting herself as the environmental candidate, having gained the support of the Sierra Club and the California League of Conservation Voters. She ran unsuccessfully two years ago for Congress against Rep. Richard Pombo (R., 11th).

Her campaign manager Joe Devlin said Shaw has only recently started soliciting votes among organizations and neighborhoods in the far-flung 15th District, which includes her home turf of Alamo, Danville and Walnut Creek, as well as cities to the south like Livermore and along I-5 all the way north to southern Sacramento County.

As for campaign funds, Houston appears to be in a strong position financially with more than $600,000 in the bank against $26,000 raised so far by Shaw supporters.

Still, with polls showing a majority of California voters favoring the Democrats, a strong vote for the Kerry/Edwards ticket could carry through on the touch screen voting machines to the State Assembly races as well. 18th Assembly District: Johan Klehs (Dem.) vs. Ronald Colfer (Lib.)

If there's at least some suspense in the 15th Assembly District race, there's practically none in the 18th where career politician Johan Klehs is facing political newcomer Ronald Colfer for the seat being vacated by two-term Assemblywoman Ellen Corbett, who cannot run for a third term. For Klehs, it would be the second time around in the Assembly. He served there before term limits from 1982 to 1994 following four years on the San Leandro City Council. His 24 years in elected office include serving as chairman of the California Board of Equalization from 1995 to 2003, where he claims responsibility for collecting over $4.1 billion from tax cheats.

Klehs, who now lives in Castro Valley, holds an undergraduate degree in Political Science and a master's in Public Administration from Cal State Hayward, is a graduate of the John F. Kennedy School of Government's Senior Executives Program, and is a lecturer in Political Science at UC Berkeley.

Colfer, who is unemployed, lives in Hayward and is running on the Libertarian Party ticket. With little campaign cash and few endorsements, Colfer said he hopes his candidacy will offer an option to those who do not want to vote for his opponent as well as add credibility to the Libertarian Party.

There is no Republican Party candidate in the 18th District Assembly race.
20th Assembly District: Alberto Torrico (Dem.) vs. Cliff Williams (Rep.)

One of the most visible candidates in the East Bay, Newark Vice Mayor Alberto Torrico has raised nearly $225,000 in his campaign war chest against challenger Republican Cliff Williams, a former planning commissioner from Milpitas. The race in the large population centers of Milpitas, Fremont, Union City and Newark pales by comparison to the hotly contested Democratic primary race that pitted Torrico against four other well-known district Democrats. One of these, Pleasanton Mayor Tom Pico, finished a surprisingly close second in a district that has always gone to the more heavily populated Tri-Cities, dominated by Fremont.

Torrico and Williams are vying for the 20th District seat now held by Assemblyman John Dutra (D., Fremont).

For Williams, a quality assurance manager, the battle for victory on Nov. 2 has admittedly been an uphill fight since his candidacy was announced on a friend's Web site last November. Although he was unchallenged in seeking the Republican Party nomination in March, he has made little headway - at least financially - since then. At last report, his campaign had only $150 in cash and $300 in printing and computer-services donations.

Although Torrico has held private fundraisers in Pleasanton, neither he nor Williams have any campaign plans in the city.

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