Recently, the Register editorial board sat down with the two candidates for state Assembly. They are incumbent 7th District Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, a Democrat, and challenger Doris Gentry, a businesswoman from Napa and a Republican who has not held elective office.

The two differed substantially in their messages and experiences.

The budget was a primary topic, as it must be for any state legislator after the result of this year’s fiasco, a budget signed nearly three months late and without realistic fixes to a multi-billion dollar structural deficit.

If Evans is re-elected, the Democratic leadership in the Assembly has already agreed that she will chair the Assembly Budget Committee, a position of extraordinary power and, in these troubled times, responsibility.

 She said the state has built itself into a bind through mandates such as Proposition 98, a minimum funding law for public schools; Proposition 42, which requires money spent on roads and transportation; Gov. Schwarzenegger’s making permanent the rollback of the Vehicle License Fee; various criminal justice mandates and the $15 billion restructuring bond that voters approved in 2004 despite concerns voiced by Evans and a handful of others.

Evans did not offer a magic pill, but said one change she would support would be an elimination of the requirement that budgets require approval of two-thirds of lawmakers, instead of a mere majority.

Gentry did not opine on the two-thirds rule or rise to the bait of Evans’ criticisms of legislative Republicans. She said the state must encourage industry and free enterprise, giving businesses a chance to help the state strengthen the economy and the government. She mentioned a handful of cost-saving measures, such as selling off surplus state supplies or properties.

When asked her priorities should she be elected, Gentry said the key is to “loosen the tax burden on business and industry.” She mentioned public-private partnerships such as the community’s involvement in Napa’s New Technology High School, and said Napa needs to diversify its wine-based economy.

Evans acknowledged that the budget will be the consuming issue, but when asked about priorities mentioned efforts that are directed towards women, children and families. In this area, her work has included advocating for improvements to the foster care system and rent stability for mobile home park residents. She has also passed legislation to support the wine industry and local flood control projects.

Earlier in the campaign, Gentry said she expected to raise more than $200,000 to topple Evans. This month, Gentry acknowledged that won’t happen.  Evans’ apparent political strength in the district, her legislative support of the wine industry and other local causes has prompted even Republicans to publicly back the incumbent, Gentry said.

Evans said she hoped the voters would return her for a third and, under term limit laws, final term in the Assembly. “I’m deeply honored to do it,” she said. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, it’s a real thrill.”