Kaplan, Chawla post early fundraising totals in City Council race for North Natomas
Sacramento City Councilmember Lisa Kaplan sailed on to council to represent North Natomas in 2022, but this time she has a serious challenger who has so far raised nearly as much cash.
Campaign finance documents filed with the city and available as of Thursday showed Jennifer Chawla, a first-time candidate, raised $107,349 and reported $82,448 in cash on hand. Kaplan reported raising $89,998 and holding $139,091 in cash on hand.
Chawla, a former FBI supervisory investigative specialist and first-time candidate, is running for the council’s 1st District. She has also received endorsements from Mayor Kevin McCarty, Councilmember Karina Talamantes and the Sacramento Central Labor Council. She stood on the picket lines supporting striking Natomas Unified School District teachers last month, according to her Instagram page.
Kaplan, an attorney who served on the Natomas Unified board for over 20 years before she was elected to the council, has received donations from the city police and firefighter unions, developers and business groups. Kaplan’s predecessor on council, state Sen. Angelique Ashby, D-Sacramento, also donated to Kaplan’s campaign — a shift since she endorsed one of Kaplan’s opponents in 2022.
Despite not holding elected office, Chawla appears to have political connections. She received a contribution from the campaign of Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen, D-Elk Grove, as well as a personal donation from Flojaune Cofer, a candidate for the county’s 1st Supervisorial District seat. Chawla also reported donations from Jay Mundy of Tera Properties LLC and from business owners, including several gas station and convenience store owners.
A third candidate, Venkateshwar Mechineni, is running for the seat but reported raising $4,331, according to city documents. The primary election is scheduled for June 2. If any candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, that candidate wins outright. Otherwise, the race will advance to the Nov. 3 general election.
Donations to Kaplan’s campaign
- Committee for Home Ownership of the North State Building Industry Association: $7,300
- California Real Estate PAC: $6,050
- Sacramento Police Officers Association: $4,750
- San Francisco Laborers Local 261: $2,200
- Mark Friedman, developer, Fulcrum Property Group: $2,200
- Nikki Advis of Advis Ranch: $2,050
- Inconcepts LLC and Carescope LLC, both of which Frank Sim is the CEO of, according to 2026 state filings: $2,000
- Urban Capital LLC, a development company for which John Vignocchi is the CEO, according to a 2025 state filing: $1,951
- SAFE Credit Union: $1,800
- Doron Levitan, COO of Priority Parking: $1,701
- Behroze Miry, developer at Bardis & Miry: $1,500
- Monique Langer’s former campaign for Natomas School Board: $1,500
- Cement Mason’s Local 400: $1,250
- Wendy Li, director of Simgate LLC — an LLC for which Frank Sim is the manager, according to a 2024 state form: $1,000
- Operating Engineers Local 3: $1,000
- David Tooley, vice president of Tooley Oil Co.: $1,000
- Campaign account of State Sen. Angelique Ashby, D-Sacramento: $1,000
- Sotiris Kolokotronis, manager of SKK Development, according to a 2026 state form: $1,000
- Abdul Ejaz, CEO of Onyx Investment Group: $1,000
- IBEW Local 1245: $1,000
- Miry Development LLC (Bay Miry): $1,000
- Fahn Brothers Properties LLC (Kenneth Fahn): $500
- Jason Kinney, Axiom Advisors consultant: $500
- Molina Healthcare Inc., a company for which Abbie Totten of Long Beach is the CEO, according to a 2026 state form: $500
- Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522: $500
- LDKV Management Inc. — a Sacramento company for which Larry Denton Kelley Jr. is the CEO, according to a 2025 state form: $500
- Holloway Land Co. — a Sacramento company for which Brian Frank Holloway is the CEO, according to a 2026 state form: $450
- Lund Construction Co. — a Sacramento company for which Kevin M. Lund is CEO, according to a 2026 state form: $250
- Samarjit Singh Malhi, CEO of Tobacco Cartel Inc.: $250
- Alvin Cheung, president and CEO of California Northstate University: $250
Donations to Chawla’s campaign
- Tera Properties LLC and Tera Investments Inc. (Jay Mundy) : $4,400
- Charanjit Mundy, owner of Chevron, Davis: $2,200
- Grass Valley Chevron: $2,200
- Campaign account of Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen, D-Elk Grove: $2,200
- Mohammed Marleen, CEO of Prohealth: $2,200
- Mandeep Kaur, business owner: $2,200
- Tabish Anwar, owner of Burraq Inc.: $2,200
- City Liquor and Food: $2,200
- Sharif Jewelers: $2,000
- The Munirs Co. — a company for which Mohammad Tariq Munir is the CEO, according to a 2025 state form: $2,000
- Central Management LLC (Jaswinder Randhawa): $1,100
- Well Care Pharmacy: $1,000
- Rajinder Singh, business owner: $1,000
- Service Outlet, Roseville: $1,000
- Parmar Fuels, Inc. — a Roseville company for which Parneet S. Parmar is CEO, according to a 2025 state form: $1,000
- Azadwinder Singh, owner of Warriors Transportation: $1,000
- Kandola and Sons Inc. — a company for which Amarjit Kandola is the agent, according to a 2026 state form: $1,000
- Flojaune Cofer’s personal account. She is a candidate for Sacramento County Board of Supervisors: $500
- Rai Bassai Petroleum Inc. (Northridge Arco, Roseville): $500
This story was originally published April 3, 2026 at 11:21 AM.
