Sacramento County candidate wants to call himself a teacher. He got a permit last month
Sacramento County Supervisor candidate and Elk Grove City Council member Pat Hume refers to himself as a teacher on his election paperwork, but he may have to drop that designation.
Hume, who has served on the city council since 2006, received a substitute teaching permit last month. He also works for a home-building company.
Sacramento County elections officials Wednesday evening said Hume’s designation status was “pending” as they wait for more information from his campaign.
But Hume’s use of the educator designation has rankled backers of District 5 supervisor candidate and Cosumnes Services District board member Jaclyn Moreno, who said the label could mislead potential voters.
Hume states that he is a councilman, businessman and teacher in the campaign papers he filed March 15 with county elections officials in his bid for supervisor in south Sacramento County’s District 5.
Hume received a 30-day substitute teaching permit on Feb. 1, according to state teacher credentialing records, six weeks before he filed the campaign paperwork.
Moreno, a mental health counselor who works with students and adults, counts educators among her supporters. She won the endorsement of the Los Rios College Federation of Teachers, the union that represents Los Rios Community College District faculty, in February.
“We are surprised that Pat Hume has attempted to use ‘Teacher’ as his ballot designation,” the federation said in a statement Thursday. “We have been forced as educators to deal with so much in the classroom over the past two years and for Hume to try to claim that he is a classroom teacher in order to fool the voters is disappointing.”
Hume on Wednesday said he had sought a teaching credential for several months prior to receiving the permit and had taught two fourth-grade classes at Sacramento’s Charles E. Mack Elementary School in Elk Grove Unified School District as a substitute once he obtained the credential.
“The term ‘teacher’ comes with a lot of political weight — it resonates well with the public. They’re considered a community-focused person,” Jason Newman, the federation’s president and a history professor at Cosumnes River College, said Thursday. “When it’s included in a biography or campaign materials, it carries a lot of political power.”
Hume, among Sacramento County’s longest serving council members, is competing against Moreno, former Elk Grove Mayor Steve Ly and former Elk Grove Unified School District board Trustee Alex Joe. The seat opened with incumbent south county Supervisor Don Nottoli’s announcement that he will retire at the end of his term.
This story was originally published March 25, 2022 at 5:25 AM.
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