Ad watch: Sacramento council candidate claims her opponent wants to cut police budget
Sacramento City Council candidate Tamiko Heim’s campaign is sending mailers to voters claiming her opponent Caity Maple wants to reduce the Police Department budget.
Below is the text of the ad and our analysis.
TEXT: “When everyone was saying ‘defund the police,’ City Council Candidate Caity Maple instantly agreed with cutting the proposed police budget. Tamiko Heim took a more thoughtful approach. She founded her Neighborhood Association. Tamiko listens to her neighbors.
“‘Had Caity Maple listened more carefully, she would have heard what I hear. We want police officers who are fair to everyone,’ - Tamiko
“On the City Council, Tamiko will listen before she talks.”
ANALYSIS:
During a March interview with The Sacramento Bee, Maple said she does not want to increase police funding, but is unsure if she wants to reduce it.
During an April 8 Oak Park Neighborhood Association candidate forum, Maple said she wants nonpolice professionals to respond to certain calls. Her answer raised the prospect of realigning public safety spending. The forum took place five days after a mass shooting downtown left six people dead.
“Right now we currently have the highest police budget in Sacramento history,” Maple said. “We have a very resourced police department, it’s great because they are able to respond to crimes including the tragedy that happened on Sunday. I’m a proponent of making sure the budget aligns with community needs and priorities and also that our police budget aligns with the calls for service that they’re getting. For example if we know we’re getting 20% of our calls for service for mental health calls or for homelessness, perhaps maybe the best person to send out is not a police officer but might be someone with a mental health background or social services. And so I’m really supportive of making sure that that budget is aligning.”
Following the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd in May 2020, the Sacramento City Council created the Department of Community Response to shift response of certain noncriminal 911 calls away from police and to nonpolice professionals.
At the time, Mayor Darrell Steinberg said the move would result in at least $10 million being removed from the police budget over the course of about two years.
The city now uses the Department of Community Response to address some non-criminal 911 and 311 calls, but only regarding homelessness. The police budget is expected to increase to an all-time high $211 million when the council votes on it June 14. The increase is mainly due to salary and benefits; the department is not adding any new officers.
On May 24, 2021, Maple retweeted a tweet from Councilwoman Katie Valenzuela which read: “There are some who think reducing the proposed budget for Sac Police Department by $30 million is too extreme. But consider this: a $30 million reduction would equal the spending level LAST YEAR. That’s right — this proposal is a significant expansion on recent spending.”
During a March interview, Heim told The Bee she does not want to reduce the budget but is unsure how she would feel about increasing it.
Maple has pledged not to accept donations from law enforcement, while Heim has accepted $6,000 and an endorsement from the Sacramento Police Officers Association.
The primary election will be held June 7. If no candidate receives at least 50.01% of the vote, there will be a November runoff. The district includes Oak Park, Hollywood Park and sections of south Sacramento.
This story was originally published June 3, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
