Two Elk Grove mayor candidates raised nearly $250,000 each. Here’s what’s a stake Tuesday

Mayor Steve Ly and his top challenger Bobbie Singh-Allen have each hauled in nearly a quarter of a million dollars to fuel their campaigns, drawing from donors in Elk Grove and beyond.

The election Tuesday will cap off an intense race between two candidates who both have roots in the city’s large and politically active Asian American communities. The campaign, which also includes consultant Brian Pastor, has been punctuated by bitter accusations of sexism directed at Ly from Singh-Allen. In turn, Ly has defended his record by saying he has brought business to the city and will continue to do so.

Singh-Allen, who is Indian American and Sikh, jumped into the race in late July 2020. But in a few short months, she has managed to turn the Elk Grove mayoral contest against Ly, a two-term incumbent, into a genuine competition, raising nearly as much in monetary contributions as the mayor.

Singh-Allen loaned her campaign committee $50,000 making her war chest was slightly larger than Ly’s at $252,000, according to the latest filings through Oct. 17. At the start, Singh-Allen has drawn support from U.S. Rep. Ami Bera, State Controller Betty Yee and state assemblyman Jim Cooper — all big names in the region — who each endorsed her and have donated to her campaign.

The money has helped her push out a message calling for a change in City Hall. In Singh-Allen’s view, the mayoral race is about contrasts.

“My candidacy for Mayor of Elk Grove was born out of a clear need for change expressed by a broad and diverse group of residents,” Singh-Allen said in a statement, adding that she hopes to build consensus.

Ly, who is vying for a third term, is Hmong with roots in the Central Valley and draws financial support from the Hmong communities in California, Wisconsin and Minnesota. His campaign committee has raised nearly $246,000 since last July, records show.

Before the summer, Ly was expected to sail through another election. But issues have quickly mounted since June when Ly was accused of trying to pressure his former campaign manager to remove damaging statements on Facebook. A number of local officials later said he failed to respond properly to allegations of harassment by his supporters, and in one case, an employee on his 2018 re-election campaign. The City Council agreed to ask a grand jury to investigate the alleged misconduct.

In the meantime, Ly has been trying to focus on the things that are pushing the city forward: an Amazon fulfillment center that is under construction, plans for two hospital projects, and recovering from the coronavirus pandemic that has crippled many local economies.

“Yes, these are uncertain times but Elk Grove is strong,” Ly declares in a promotional video. “In the face of such uncertainty, only proven leadership will maintain our city’s strength.”

Pastor, a trained physician, is a first-time candidate who is the only mayoral hopeful who is not involved in the intense politics that has engulfed the race. Pastor stood out earlier this year when he took a position on a controversial hospital project, saying it should be moved to another section of the city. But having only raised $1,950 by the end of the most recent reporting period, his campaign cash does not reflect broad support.

Harassment claims loom over campaign

The vast majority of Ly’s political ads on Facebook focused on initiatives in the city. In videos, several residents attest to his stewardship. But in the homestretch, Ly began circulating an ad that refuted the events of this past summer, casting doubt on the validity of the misconduct allegations he faced a few months ago.

“These accusations of bullying, harassment, and misogyny are just false and unfounded …,” Elk Grove Police Department Sgt. Donna Cox is quoted saying. “There is no evidence that supports any wrongdoing by the mayor’s supporters or that mayor Steve Ly was even involved in this and the investigation is closed.”

The comment doesn’t reflect that a grand jury may still investigate the harassment claims after the City Council considered censuring Ly but appealed to the independent body instead. Ly’s accusers have said the Facebook ad is deceiving.

“Shame on Mayor Ly for intentionally misleading voters with this flyer suggesting that all the incidents have been investigated (they have not) and that Sgt. Cox was involved in the investigation,” Jaclyn Moreno, a commissioner on the Cosumnes Community Services District board who detailed this summer a case of sexual harassment involving Ly’s former campaign aide.

Moreno said the mayor continued working with the employee after she told him about several incidents. Hers was just one of the various claims that emerged. Other elected officials said they had also been singled out in the past by Ly’s surrogates and supporters.

When reached about the ad, Ly said in a statement: “Sergeant Cox’s words and the words of the police chief speak for themselves. I stand by our Elk Grove Police Department.”

Still, the harassment claims have cost him some institutional support. The Democratic Central Committee of Sacramento County and the Sacramento Central Labor Council — both politically influential groups — took back early endorsements of Ly.

Fabrizio Sasso, the labor council’s executive director, said it’s never easy or fund to rescind an endorsement but the allegations were not consistent with the group’s values.

“These women have experienced some horrible things from Mr. Ly’s campaign through the years,” Sasso said. “That’s just not something that we felt comfortable continuing to endorse him over. We believe these women.”

What about jobs and new hospital project?

A city of about 175,000 people, Elk Grove’s businesses have been rocked by the pandemic. But the city’s budget was able to weather the financial storm by using reserves and cutting expenses.

In political ads, Ly said the city has added and retained thousands of jobs and attracted millions in capital investment during his tenure.

“All the great work that we’ve accomplished will not be taken away by this pandemic,” Ly said in a promotional video, adding that the city has also completed construction for the community center and an aquatic center during his time in office.

One of the city’s main issues is around growth and how to do it responsibly, which is why a controversial hospital project proposed by California Northstate University has become another pressing issue in the campaign.

The school, which offers a number of degrees in health professions, wants to build a teaching hospital with as many as 400 beds and provide trauma services in the city. The plans have sparked a backlash from some residents on the west side of Elk Grove where the facility could be built.

It’s another potential problem for Ly who has received significant financial support from the school’s administrators and other associates — close to $50,000 since 2016, records show. He has been one of the project’s most vocal supporters and campaigned on the future hospital as a product of his leadership.

Singh-Allen, on the other hand, has criticized the hospital project’s approval process as lacking transparency, mirroring the concerns of residents who object to the location of the facility near the Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge and surrounding subdivisions.

“The residents of Elk Grove count on the Mayor to maintain the integrity of the city’s process for approval for major development projects that will affect their lives on a daily basis,” Singh-Allen recently told The Sacramento Bee.

“Mr. Ly’s decision to accept over $50,000 in campaign contributions from CNU and people affiliated with it, coupled with his lack of responsiveness to their concerns about the proposed hospital, creates the perception that he is not leading with the public’s best interest in mind.”