By JILLIAN JONES

Register Staff Writer

And then there were three. Sonoma City Councilwoman Joanne Bouldt Sanders has announced her intent to run for state Senate in 2010, joining current Assemblywoman Noreen Evans and Santa Rosa Democrat David Rosas in a bid to replace Sen. Pat Wiggins, D-Santa Rosa.

Sanders, currently in her second term on the Sonoma City Council, is founder and president of Bolt Staffing Service, which serves Napa, Sonoma and Solano counties. She represents Sonoma County on the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District.

Sanders has already filed forms with the Secretary of State and started fundraising for the Democratic party nomination in the June 8 primary.

She will square off against Evans, D-Santa Rosa; and  Rosas, a Santa Rosa school board trustee.

Wiggins announced in August that she will not seek re-election for health reasons.

Sanders said she is running for state Senate “because I want to bring a dose of the citizen’s reality to Sacramento.”

She said fundamental changes must be made to the way California is governed in order to avoid more job losses and further deterioration of the state’s economy.

“Since I’ve been in local government, we have always balanced our budget setting money aside for reserves while making sure our workers earn competitive wages with cost of living increases every year,” Sanders said. “We’ve had the same challenges as everyone else and public safety services have actually improved. That’s what I’ll do and more, when I am in the state Senate.”

Sanders made the decision to open an exploratory committee when the state borrowed $2.5 million from Sonoma to balance its budget, she said. The city planned to use the money to help build a community pool and remodel the library.

“Our budget is still not adopted because we are making hard decisions to accommodate this loss,” said Sanders.

Sanders said the Legislature has avoided hard decisions because lawmakers are more interested in preserving their positions and raising money for the next election than representing the people.

“I want to break through the old stalemates and work to meet the challenges of our economy, our water supply, our jobs and our public safety,” she said.

Evans, who has never met Sanders, said she looks forward to the campaign.

“I’ve never run a race that wasn’t contested, so it is familiar territory,” Evans said. “I welcome what is likely to be a very lively debate.”

Rosas, who has also never met Sanders, expressed similar enthusiasm.

"I think it is fantastic,” Rosas said. “People in Sonoma, Napa and the North Coast have been underrepresented for awhile. Anyone who jumps in, I think it is fantastic."

California State Senate District 2 includes parts of Sonoma and Solano counties; and all of Napa, Humboldt, Mendocino, and Lake counties.

Register Editor Bill Kisliuk contributed to this article.