Former Sacramento councilman Jeff Harris might run for mayor. Will Steinberg run?
Former Sacramento City Councilman Jeff Harris is throwing his hat in the ring to run for mayor — maybe.
Harris, who lost his seat last month due to redistricting, has filed paperwork to raise funds to run in 2024, but has not yet announced if he’s going to do so.
“I’m holding the option open,” Harris said in a text message to The Sacramento Bee Monday.
Harris, 69, represented East Sacramento and parts of North Sacramento on the council since 2014. The owner of a construction company, he was a fiscal conservative who led campaigns against several ballot initiatives. He also tried to open several large homeless shelters, including at Cal Expo.
He is the second former councilman to file papers to raise funds to run for mayor in 2024. Steve Hansen, the council’s first openly gay member who lost re-election to Councilwoman Katie Valenzuela in 2020, also started fundraising that year.
But neither man has announced a run, and it’s possible neither will. Once council members leave elected office, they often need to decide where to put their leftover campaign cash, which could lead to filing papers to raise money to run for mayor or state legislature. Harris’ campaign account currently has about $38,000, while Hansen’s has about $21,000, according to city records.
Steinberg undecided on re-election
The slate of candidates the mayoral election will largely depend on whether Mayor Darrell Steinberg decides to run for a third term.
In 2020, Steinberg told The Bee and other outlets that he would not run, but now he is officially undecided.
“He hasn’t made a decision on whether to run for re-election,” Mary Lynne Vellinga, Steinberg’s spokeswoman, said Monday. “He will decide in the next few months.”
Steinberg, elected in 2016, is interested in a California Supreme Court judgeship, which is likely why he submitted an application to a lower court in December, but there is not currently a spot available.
Steinberg, a former state senator known for creating the so-called Mental Health Services Act, is seen as more liberal than both Hansen and Harris, but he is not a self-described democratic socialist like Valenzuela.
Valenzuela’s relationship with Harris has been prickly. She in October called for a censure of Harris over an exchange the two had regarding Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Harris, who lives in River Park, did not respond to an inquiry asking if he is also considering a run for Valenzuela’s council seat in 2024. Former Planning and Design Commission member Phil Pluckebaum this month opened an account to raise money to run against Valenzuela, who’s also facing a potential recall.
The primary mayor and council election will be held March 5, 2024. If no candidate receives over 50.01% of the vote, the races will be decided in the general election in November.
This story was originally published February 14, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
