Assemblywoman Noreen Evans recently enjoyed election results reserved for despots running corrupt regimes and legitimate candidates running unopposed: 100 percent of the voters backed her bid for office. Not to worry: Evans falls into the second category, as no Republican bothered to challenge the Democrat and former Santa Rosa City Councilmember in her second run for the Assembly Nov. 7.

A few weeks later, Evans visited the Register editorial board to talk about local and state issues. Here are some of the highlights:

* Local impact: Evans noted that she has become chair of the Assembly Democratic Caucus, and she hopes to host a Democratic retreat in Napa Valley early next year. Getting lawmakers to Napa Valley for a long weekend shouldn't be a hard sell, and Evans sees benefits for the district: "Having urban legislators in the valley will allow us to educate them on local issues and enable them to see why agriculture is so important here."

* Who can pour for charity? Three Napa vintners recently were disciplined by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control for pouring wine at charitable events, something their so-called 17/20 licenses do not allow. The cases set off a tempest, as pouring and donating wine at charitable events is a common way for vintners to contribute to good causes and promote their wares.

Evans said the solution should be two-pronged: First, vintners who do not have wineries must be educated about what exactly, their licenses do and don't allow. Second, she said she would work toward a legislative fix to assist so-called 17/20 licensees. But she noted that larger wineries with winemaking facilities, so-called 02 licensees, have expressed concern about expanding the rights of others, and that "we need to proceed with some sensitivity to those issues."

* Flood control: She credited Napa Mayor Jill Techel and Napa County Supervisor Bill Dodd with successfully lobbying last year in Sacramento for the state to cough up more of the flood control money it owes the Napa project. She said with continued local advocacy, "We'll see more money in the future."

* Finances: In her first campaign, Evans opposed the first Schwarzenegger bail-out bond, and said she has reservations about the debt created by the $42 billion in infrastructure bonds just approved by voters. Nonetheless, she said these roads, education, housing and water bonds at least will have direct benefits for Californians, including "a better business climate."

Evans is concerned that California still faces a substantial annual deficit, but acknowledged that in the current climate, it is unlikely two-thirds of legislators would agree to raise taxes. Fiscal pressures will only increase, she notes, if as expected the governor and the Legislature try to move forward on a plan to extend healthcare coverage to more Californians.

* Growth: Housing allocations foisted upon cities and counties by state and regional authorities are a cause of concern to Napa lawmakers, who want to limit sprawl and preserve agriculture. Evans is on the forefront of efforts to change the formula for allocating housing to help Napa County preserve its quality of life.

Evans said that Napa's sensibility is forward-looking, as the county "is already where other counties will be in the next 20 to 50 years."

Evans also addressed social services -- such as foster care and aid for the developmentally disabled -- where she has a strong focus. But budget constraints cast shadows on any lawmaker's plans. Evans noted that one challenge for government is to go from worrying about "the short-term costs" of taking legislative action on key issues to "the long-term costs of doing nothing."