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George Runner resigns from state Senate, wife expected to run

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George Runner on Tuesday resigned his seat in the state Senate a little more than a month after the Republican from Lancaster won election to the state Board of Equalization. But the legislative seat may stay in the family.

Former Assemblywoman Sharon Runner is likely to run for her husband’s Senate seat in a special election that will be held Feb. 15, according to sources close to the couple.

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Sharon Runner, 56, said Tuesday that she cannot comment on her political future except that she plans to resign Wednesday from the state Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board. Her term is set to end Jan. 1.

‘I am resigning 10 days early,’’ she said, adding that she plans to say more about her future plans Wednesday after her resignation takes effect.

Because the appeals board involves federal funds, federal law prohibits Sharon Runner from talking about running for office while she serves on the board, officials said.

It would be the second time Sharon Runner attempted to follow in her husband’s wake into elected office. She was elected to the Assembly in 2002 to a seat formerly held by her husband. Term limits forced her to leave the Assembly in 2008.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday called the special election for Feb. 15, which coincides with a special election also to be held that day to fill the vacancy created by the death of state Sen. Jenny Oropeza (D-Long Beach), who died in October.

In both Senate districts, if no candidate wins a majority in February, a special runoff will be held April 19.

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Sharon Runner, who has had some health issues in the past, represented much of the 17th Senate District when she was in the state Assembly. The change would mean a pay cut. Lawmakers make $95,291 a year, while Runner’s salary on the appeals board has been $128,109. Those speculating on who else might run note that the Senate district also includes the districts of Assemblymen Cameron Smyth (R-Santa Clarita) and Steve Knight (R-Palmdale). Smyth said he has decided not to run for Senate this time. ‘I want to see what happens in 2012 with redistricting,’’ said Smyth, who currently represents much less of the Senate district than does Knight.

Knight could not be reached immediately for comment.

George Runner said he was vacating the 17th Senate District seat earlier than planned to help Los Angeles County election officials save some money by consolidating the special election to fill his seat with the voting in Oropeza’s 28th Senate District.

He was elected to the state Board of Equalization on Nov. 2, forcing him to step down from the Senate seat he has held since 2004. He previously served in the state Assembly from 1996 to 2002.

-- Patrick McGreevy

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