Bentley to Try for Stirling’s Senate Seat

Hoping to make a rapid climb up the political ladder, Assemblywoman Carol Bentley (R-El Cajon) Thursday announced her candidacy in December’s special election in the 39th State Senate District.

Bentley, 44, who was elected to the Assembly from the 77th District only last November, becomes the first officially declared candidate in the Dec. 5 race for the state Senate seat vacated last week by Larry Stirling (R-San Diego), who resigned to accept a gubernatorial appointment to the San Diego Municipal Court.

Saying that serving in the state Senate had always been her goal, Bentley explained that Stirling’s judicial appointment made it “clear to me that my long-range plans were now very much short-range plans.”

If she is victorious, Bentley would become the fourth consecutive Assembly member from the 77th District to later serve as state senator from the 39th District. Before her election to the Assembly, Bentley worked for 12 years as an aide to Stirling’s Republican predecessor in the 39th District, former Sen. Jim Ellis.

Bentley said that she expects her major opposition to come from Assemblywoman Lucy Killea (D-San Diego), who says she is “leaning strongly” toward running.

Setting a partisan tone for that possible showdown, Bentley--who ran under the slogan “The Real Republican” in her upset of San Diego City Councilwoman Gloria McColl in last year’s GOP Assembly primary--chided Killea Thursday for downplaying her party affiliation in anticipation of a race in the heavily Republican 39th District.

Noting that Killea recently described herself as “a Democrat with a small ‘d,’ ” Bentley said: “Lucy Killea is no more a Democrat with a small ‘d’ than Carol Bentley is a Republican with a small ‘r.’ Lucy Killea will try to rewrite history. She will try to remind us of the old Lucy Killea . . . we knew before she went to Sacramento and became the captive of (house speaker) Willie Brown and his money machine.”

Other candidates considering seeking Stirling’s seat include former San Diego City Councilman Bill Cleator, El Cajon Mayor John Reber, El Cajon Councilwoman Beverly Miller, Santee Councilman Jim Bartell, El Cajon lawyer Sam Hornreich and Dianne Jacob, a member of the Jamul-Dulzura Union school board.