Due to the failure of state Proposition 93, Mountain View's Sally Lieber says she will be stepping down from her state Assembly seat and making a run against county Supervisor and fellow Democrat Liz Kniss.

About 53 percent of voters turned down Prop 93, according to election officials. If the measure had passed, Lieber could have served another six years in the Assembly, though no more time in the state Senate.

But after learning of Prop 93's failure this week, Lieber now plans to wait until 2012 to run for the Senate, saying she wouldn't run this year against incumbent Elaine Alquist.

Instead, she's running against Kniss, a Palo Alto Democrat who has held the District Five seat for eight years. This November, Kniss must run for reelection for another four-year term.

"I'm very excited about the race," Lieber said Wednesday. "I think that there are issues that need more discussion, such as the inadequate financial oversight by the Board of Supervisors. We're in a crisis not faced by neighboring counties. My primary concern has been the cutbacks to services to those who are most vulnerable."

Kniss told the Voice on Wednesday that she is up to the challenge.

"I'm running on my record, which I think is a pretty good one," she said, adding that she's "in it to win it."

"We've been preparing for more than a year" for the upcoming race, Kniss said. Recently her office announced that the Kniss campaign has already raised more than $200,000.

But when it comes to money, "I anticipate I'll have a lot of support," Lieber said, adding that "This isn't about money, it's about our county."

With her Assembly seat now up for grabs, Lieber is supporting Democrat Paul Fong, a professor who has served as a Foothill-De Anza Community College District trustee for 14 years. Democrat Anna Song, an eight-year county school board trustee, has also thrown her hat in the ring.

Until recently, Fong and Democratic Santa Clara Council member Dominic Caserta were the two most serious candidates in the Assembly race. Former Mountain View City Council member Mike Kasperzak dropped out of the race last year, as did Santa Clara city clerk Rod Diridon Jr.

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