Top takeaways — and surprises — from high-profile races in Sacramento and Northern California

The voters went one way on a “strong mayor” initiative — and then went in the opposite direction politically on rent control. They reelected a slew of incumbents — but left a couple of nationally prominent mayors fighting for their political lives.

Election Day in the Sacramento region left plenty for politicos to chew on. Although results were still being tabulated afternoon — Sacramento County officials said they still had 359,244 votes to count, with an update set to be released Friday afternoon — a few patterns emerged.

Here are some key takeaways:

A zig left, a zag right

Sacramento city voters appeared to have overwhelmingly defeated Measure C, which would have established a stricter version of rent control, going beyond measures already approved by the City Council. The measure, supported by the county’s progressive-leaning Democratic Party, was trailing by a 62-38 margin, according to the latest figures from county elections officials.

In the same breath, voters veered left and also defeated Measure A, the “strong mayor” proposal championed by Mayor Darrell Steinberg but opposed by the county party. Measure A was losing 57-43.

Voters “split the middle,” said Steve Maviglio, a veteran Democratic operative.

Maviglio — who lost his own race for a seat on the American River Flood Control District board — said the rent control proposal failed mainly because “you’ve got a lot of property owners in Sacramento.” Owners believed that rent control would cause their property values to fall, he said.

The measure wasn’t only opposed by developers and apartment owners. The City Council passed a lesser version of rent control last year with the understanding that rent-control advocates would back away from a ballot-box campaign. But one of the advocates pressed on with the initiative anyway.

Rent control wasn’t popular elsewhere, either. A statewide initiative, Proposition 21, also went down to defeat. The vote was 60-40.

No on ‘strong mayor’

As for Measure A, Maviglio said: “People like the government in Sacramento. They like status quo. It’s extremely hard to sell that change. .... When you’re the mayor, it’s really hard to sell something that would give you more power.”

Progressives opposed the initiative as a “power grab” that would drain political influence from neighborhoods.

It’s the fifth time “strong mayor” proposals have faltered in Sacramento. Former Mayor Kevin Johnson’s initiative was rejected by voters in 2014; three other times the plan died before making to the ballot.

Tough night for Northern California mayors

While Steinberg’s “strong mayor” was losing, two prominent Northern California mayors were struggling against surprisingly stiff challenges.

West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon had a narrow lead over City Councilwoman Martha Guerrero, at 50.73% to 49.27%.

Cabaldon, who’s been mayor since 2004, has been visible on the national stage. He is chair of the Jobs, Education and Workforce committee with the U.S. Conference of Mayors. One of the most high-profile gay politicians in the area, Cabaldon has suggested that homophobia may have cost him some support in his re-election bid.

Meanwhile, Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, a political wunderkind who was featured in an HBO documentary after being elected the city’s first Black mayor in 2016, was in danger of losing his re-election fight. Tubbs was trailing 52-48 to businessman and pastor Kevin Lincoln, according to San Joaquin County elections officials. An update was due to be released late Thursday.

“That’s the real shocker,” Maviglio said.

Separately, incumbent Elk Grove Mayor Steve Ly appeared to be losing his re-election bid to school board trustee Bobbie Singh-Allen, 47-35, with a third candidate trailing badly. The campaign was contentious; Singh-Allen jumped into the race after she and several other women accused some of Ly’s supporters of harassment.

This story was originally published November 4, 2020 at 3:56 PM.