Marc Levine, the North Bay’s new assemblyman, and Michael Allen, the man he replaced, each got lucrative appointments on Thursday courtesy of Speaker John Pérez.

Despite having a massive financial advantage and the backing of powerful Democratic Party and union allies, Santa Rosa Assemblyman Michael Allen lost his bid for another term to a relative political unknown.

Even as his opponent prepares to be sworn into office Monday, Michael Allen reiterated that he won’t concede the race for the 10th Assembly District seat until every last vote is counted. That could happen by Friday, when an estimated 15,000 provisional and absentee ballots in Sonoma County finally are tallied and the results of the Nov. 7 election are certified, according to county elections chief Janice Atkinson.
Odds are the outstanding ballots won’t alter the outcome of the race. At last count, San Rafael City Councilman Marc Levine held a slim but statistically significant lead over Allen of 3,468 votes.

In his bid to unseat incumbent Democratic Assemblyman Mike Allen, San Rafael City Councilman Marc Levine, also a Democrat, has strengthened his lead. But Allen is not conceding the race, despite Levine’s declaration of victory and the consistent lead he’s held since Election Day.

If you want to know why political insiders fought new election reforms in California, you could ask Assemblyman Michael Allen. Or congressmen Pete Stark and Howard Berman. Under the election rules that existed before this year, all three incumbents would be gathering with friends this weekend to celebrate victories in Tuesday’s elections. Instead, Allen, the former Santa Rosan, appears to be on his way to losing his North Bay Assembly seat, and Stark and Berman have already lost their congressional seats.

San Rafael City Councilman Marc Levine declared victory Wednesday in his upset bid for the new North Bay Assembly seat, but Assemblyman Michael Allen would not concede the bitter battle that pitted two Democrats against each other. With tens of thousands of uncounted ballots in Sonoma and Marin counties, the final tally may not be decided for weeks. But Levine expressed confidence Wednesday that his narrow 1,663-vote lead over Allen would hold up.

Early returns show close races for Michael Allen and Proposition 37, while Measure Q supporters are faring better than the measure itself.

Two independent expenditure committees poured in nearly $500,000 to support Michael Allen in the waning days of his campaign against a fellow Democrat for a newly-drawn state Assembly seat, records show.
The Peace Officers Research Association of California kicked in $252,000, and the California Alliance put in another $238,000.
The alliance is comprised of consumer attorneys, conservationists and nurses. The money was spent on television ads opposing Marc Levine, who on Friday criticized the expenditures.

Three North Coast lawmakers were included in an Associated Press analysis that revealed that state Assembly members made 5,000 vote changes or additions during this year’s legislative session. The practice, while legal, is decried by critics as a way for lawmakers to play politics with their votes or hide their true positions on the issues.

The race in a newly created state Assembly district that ecompasses part of Sonoma County and all of Marin County is starting to heat up in one of the few contests statewide to feature two Democrats running against each other. Assemblyman Michael Allen and his challenger, Marc Levine, earned the right to compete for the 10th Assembly District under California’s new top-two primary system. The race has gained attention in part because it is one of about two dozen in the state pitting members of the same party against one another in the general election on Nov. 6.