Sacramento City Councilman Eric Guerra announces 2022 run for California State Senate
Sacramento City Councilman Eric Guerra, who represents the southeastern corner of the city, has announced his run for California State Senate.
Dr. Richard Pan, a Democrat currently representing California’s Sixth State Senate district, will have his term expire in 2022 and he will be unable to run for re-election due to term limits, leaving the seat vacant. The district includes the cities of Sacramento, Elk Grove and West Sacramento, as well as some unincorporated Sacramento County communities such as Arden Arcade and North Highlands.
Guerra, originally an immigrant from Mexico, has served on the City Council since 2015. At the time, there hadn’t been a Latino at the dais since 1999, when then-Mayor Joe Serna Jr. died while in office. At age 36 when he was sworn in, Guerra was among the youngest members of the council.
A graduate of Sacramento State with a master’s degree in public policy and administration, Guerra came to the U.S. from the Mexican state of Michoacan without documentation in 1982. He and his family were deported in 1986, but returned to settle in a farmworking community of Yolo County. Eventually gaining U.S. citizenship in 2002, he completed a bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronic engineering while working as a janitor before earning his master’s degree. Guerra went on to work at the state Capitol and has garnered more than 17 years of experience in the Legislature.
Guerra won a special election in 2015 to fill the seat of Kevin McCarty, who had recently been elected to the California State Legislature. Guerra was re-elected in 2016 without opposition and won again in 2020 by a wide margin.
Councilwoman Angelique Ashby has also filed paperwork to run for Pan’s seat, meaning the City Council colleagues may face off in 2022.
Guerra has been endorsed by Sacramento County Supervisor Phil Serna, as well as current councilmen Jay Schenirer and Rick Jennings, and former councilman Steve Hansen.
