Sacramento mayor Darrell Steinberg won’t run for re-election. Who might replace him?
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Sacramento mayor won’t run for re-election
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg will not seek re-election next year. Steinberg, who was elected in 2016, will serve the rest of his term, which runs through the end of 2024. Read more of our coverage from the mayor’s announcement here.
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Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg announced that he will not seek re-election next year.
Without an incumbent, the mayoral election could prove to be a competitive race.
Steinberg has served as mayor since 2016 and will serve out his term that ends at the end of 2024. The first opportunity voters will have to select their next city leader will be in the March 5 primary. If a candidate gets the majority vote in the primary, the election will be decided. Otherwise, there will be a runoff election between the top two candidates in the general November 2024 election.
Here’s a look at the candidates for each race for whom the city has accepted nomination papers, and who have also created committees to raise funds.
Sacramento 2024 mayoral race
Flojaune “Flo” Cofer was the first candidate to formally announce a run for mayor. She is an epidemiologist, an activist against police brutality, and former chair of a city committee tasked with advising the council on how to spend new tax revenue. She is endorsed by Sacramento City Councilwomen Mai Vang, Katie Valenzuela and the Sacramento City Teachers Association.
Steve Hansen, a former councilman, announced May 30 that he is running for mayor. He was the city’s first openly gay council member. He lost his District 4 seat to Councilwoman Katie Valenzuela in 2020. Hansen is endorsed by the Sacramento Police Officers Association, the Sacramento Association of Realtors and the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.
Kevin McCarty, a former councilman who’s serving as Sacramento’s assemblyman, announced minutes after Steinberg’s announcement that he’d throw his hat into the race. The 51-year-old is a lifelong Sacramento resident. McCarty is endorsed by the Sacramento Central Labor Council and Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522.
Richard Pan, a former state lawmaker and a pediatrician, announced June 11 he is running for mayor. He termed out of the state senate at the end of 2022, after leading the way on several controversial vaccine laws. Pan is endorsed by Sacramento District Attorney Thien Ho.
Jose Antonio Avina II is the owner of a Sacramento gym and a captain in the Marine Corps Reserve, according to his website.
Julius Michael Engel is an asset protection officer.
This story was originally published May 25, 2023 at 10:17 AM.
