Keene, LaMalfa square off over Aanestad's seat

As former Assembly members Doug LaMalfa and Rick Keene race to win the GOP nomination for the 4th State Senate District this spring, don't expect them to make any left turns.

Party registration in the district, which encompasses the Yuba-Sutter region and stretches north to the Oregon border, favors Republicans so much that winning the primary is nearly tantamount to winning the November general election.

But even if they're both going to stick to traditional GOP talking points, both Keene and LaMalfa still split in some ways, with both elected to the state Assembly in 2002 and termed out in 2008.

"We (LaMalfa's campaign) have grassroots endorsements, and lots of them," LaMalfa said. "I haven't been one to invest time in the Sacramento side of it."

For his part, Keene said he'd rather not comment on LaMalfa. But in his thoughts on state government, Keene advocates for a platform of ideas.

"You've got to be visionary if you want the right to lead," Keene said. "Our side has a role to play, but it has to be for something, not just against something."

LaMalfa said his approach to state government is to remember who he works for. In that sense, his campaigning involves putting maps in his truck and driving from county to county across the 4th, the second-largest state Senate district in California.

"The core of the district already knows me pretty good," said LaMalfa, referring to the portion he represented in the 2nd Assembly District, on most of the Interstate 5 corridor. "The trick is for me to get known in areas where they don't know me."

Keene, too, said hitting the road is important for his campaign. As he's doing so, he's talking about six ideas for improving state government, including giving educators and teachers more freedom to create school policy, making state energy independent, and creating two-year cycles for state government to cut down on excessive bill-making.

"We have to recognize what our problems are," Keene said. "Sacramento has spent too much, gotten too big, and that's not just the fault of the other party. Our Republican governor bears some of the responsibility."

The two men will have an opportunity to hash those views out further when they participate in a forum Thursday in Marysville, the first of five involving local races the Appeal-Democrat will present over the next two months.

Subsequent forums will focus on supervisors' races in Yuba and Sutter counties, county superintendent of schools races in both counties, and state Assembly primary races. Keene and LaMalfa are scheduled to take part in a second forum sponsored by the Lincoln Club on March 25 at the Plaza Room in Yuba City.

In a race where two candidates differ fairly little, personalities and campaign cash will play a bigger role, said Allan Hoffenblum, co-publisher of a regular book profiling state political races.

"It'll get down more to personalities and who people identify with," Hoffenblum said. "It turns into a family feud."

Money is important in the 4th District, Hoffenblum said, because more than a third of the voters have permanent vote-by-mail status, meaning they can cast ballots well in advance of Election Day.

"If you have money, it gives you a chance to get those voters right away," Hoffenblum said.

In the most recent campaign cash filings with the California Secretary of State, Keene had $1.018 million in cash on hand, to about $603,000 for LaMalfa.

Despite both being Republicans, LaMalfa and Keene have different backgrounds. LaMalfa managed his family's four-generation rice farm in Richvale before making his first run for office eight years ago, based on his realization many people serving in government didn't have business experience.

"They didn't know the load of government, with regulations and taxes and other actions they take," he said. "I can relate on how it affects agricultural issues."

Keene, an attorney since 1989 who's not practicing law, has a longer history in elective politics, elected to the Chico City Council in 1992 after serving on the city's planning commission. He chose not to run for re-election in 2000.

The experience on City Council, Keene said, influenced his decision to run for state Assembly.

"In politics, the thing that's missing is a mission," he said, describing how he had goals both on the council and in the Assembly he feels he met. "If you don't have a mission, you're just playing the same games."

Keene and LaMalfa are running to replace state Sen. Sam Aanestad, R-Penn Valley, who is termed out this year and is making a bid for lieutenant governor.

Lathe Sheldon Gill, an attorney in Crescent City, and Paul Singh, a Live Oak resident who lost to Aanestad in 2006 and made an unsuccessful bid for Assembly two years ago, have filed to run in the state Senate race as Democrats.

The primary election is June 8.

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Ben van der Meer at 749-4709 or bvandermeer@appealdemocrat.com.