TS - Stoen sets sights on U.S. Senate

Stoen sets sights on U.S. Senate
By James Tressler The Times-Standard
Dec 5, 2003

EUREKA -- Here's yet another huge twist in the ongoing Humboldt County district attorney saga: DA Paul Gallegos' right-hand man, Tim Stoen, wants to run for U.S. Senate.

Stoen, hired by Gallegos this year to be his assistant district attorney, and who is handling Gallegos' controversial lawsuit against Pacific Lumber Co., filed an intention statement with the county Elections Office on Thursday.

Neither Stoen nor Gallegos could be reached for comment, but elections officials confirmed Stoen filed the statement to run against incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer.

While such a run may come as a surprise -- Stoen's name would be on the same ballot in March as his boss, Gallegos, who faces a recall election -- Stoen has been active in politics before.

Last year he made an unsuccessful run on the Republican ticket for the North Coast's state Assembly seat, losing in the primary last March to fellow Republican Rob Brown. Stoen pic

Stoen has previously described himself as a conservative, pro-life Democrat. He was a Democrat 12 years ago when he made an unsuccessful run against Frank Riggs for Congress, then became a Republican again. In 1998 he switched to Democrat to take on Wesley Chesbro in the primaries in an attempt to gain the state Senate seat Chesbro now holds.

Locally Stoen has achieved notoriety not only for the PL lawsuit, but also for his ill-timed association with the late Jim Jones. Stoen was a legal adviser to the Peoples Temple founder, and he lost his 6-year-old son, John Victor Stoen, who died in a mass suicide orchestrated by Jones in Guyana in 1978.

Stoen had defected from the People's Temple in 1977 and was in the process of attempting to extricate his son from Jonestown with the help of U.S. Rep. Leo Ryan of San Mateo. Stoen stayed in Georgetown, Guyana, while Ryan visited Jonestown. Ryan was shot and killed when Jones's followers attacked his party as they attempted to fly out of Jonestown. The mass suicide followed.

The PL lawsuit, filed just weeks after Gallegos took office, has been the political story on the North Coast this year. The district attorney is seeking hundreds of millions in damages against the timber company, alleging PL lied to state agencies during the 1999 Headwaters Forest deal and subsequently has caused environmental damage as a result of activities the District Attorney's Office charges were forbidden under that agreement.

Just how Stoen plans to manage the PL lawsuit, which has yet to go to trial, and take on the task of running against the formidable Boxer for U.S. Senate -- who holds one of the state's most powerful political slots -- remains to be seen.

Mike Harvey, chairman of the Humboldt County Republican Party, said he's skeptical Stoen can pull it off.

"I'm not sure he's going to be able to do both his job as assistant district attorney and run an effective campaign," Harvey said. "I just hope he doesn't use running for Senate as a marketing tool for the DA's lawsuit against PL."

However, Eureka attorney Bill Bertain, a staunch PL critic who years ago won a settlement in a shareholders lawsuit against the PL parent company Maxxam Corp. in the early 1990s, said he doesn't see any problem with Stoen's decision. Bertain maintained that the PL lawsuit, though controversial, probably won't go to trial until sometime after the March primary. Bertain also said he thinks Stoen has a chance.

"He's very articulate, he knows a lot of people, he's got name recognition already and here he is with an issue that's pretty hot," Bertain said.

As of Thursday, three other Republicans had officially entered the race -- former U.S. Treasurer Rosario Marin, former Los Altos Hills Mayor Toni Casey and Ventura County Assemblyman Tony Strickland. All are relatively little known, but that could change if former Secretary of State Bill Jones enters the race. Jones, a Republican, has reportedly expressed interest in the race, but has not officially entered it.

Roy Behr, Boxer's campaign spokesman, said he's not familiar with Stoen but welcomed him into the fray.

In a telephone interview from Los Angeles, Behr said Stoen could have a chance of winning the Republican ticket, given that so far none of the candidates is particularly well known.

"When it comes to winning the primary, anyone who has the ability to communicate with voters, is particularly well known or has a substantial voter base has a plausible chance," Behr said. "Of course, winning in the general election next November is a different story."

According to elections officials, Stoen has paid the roughly $3,000 filing fee to enter the Senate race, but he has until today -- the deadline -- to get at least 65 valid signatures.