Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg easily re-elected to second term
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg was easily elected to a second term Tuesday.
Early returns Tuesday evening showed Steinberg had secured 73 percent of the vote.
“I want to thank the people of Sacramento for entrusting me to lead this city for another four years,” Steinberg said in a statement. “I promise that I will continue to work hard every day to build a great city that not only has exciting attractions and a thriving downtown but also has healthy neighborhoods that provide economic opportunity for all our residents.”
Councilman Eric Guerra was also headed toward re-election. He had 59 percent of the vote in early returns after a midnight update. His next closest competitor, Kevin Rooney, had 18 percent.
Councilman Allen Warren was leading in his re-election bid in north Sacramento with 39 percent of the vote, but that would not be enough to avoid a November run-off. Grocery store owner Sean Loloee had 28 percent. Twin Rivers Unified school board member Ramona Landeros had 22 percent. If no candidate receives 50 percent, the top two performers will head to the run-off.
Since he was elected in 2016, Steinberg led a campaign to bring more than $40 million in new annual revenue through the Measure U sales tax increase. He also played a leading role in securing a long-awaited Major League Soccer team.
While he’s excited to bring development to the city as it undergoes what some call a “renaissance,” Steinberg will measure his success ultimately by what he does to help the city’s most vulnerable, the mayor has previously told The Sacramento Bee.
Volunteers in January 2019 counted roughly 5,570 homeless people in Sacramento County, mostly in the city. That was a roughly 19 percent increase from 2017.
The month prior, Steinberg asked all council members to find sites for large homeless shelters in each of their districts. Since then, one has opened downtown, and at least two more are planned to open this spring.
For his efforts, the former state Senate leader has also again found himself on a statewide stage. Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Steinberg to co-chair his task force on homelessness. The group has called for a statewide measure to be placed on the November ballot that would require localities and the state to meet aggressive goals to house the homeless or face court action.
However, Steinberg’s critics say he is not doing enough to help the homeless in Sacramento.
This winter, with the winter sanctuary program ended, all shelters full on any given night and new facilities not yet opened, many homeless men and women were without shelter as temperatures dipped near freezing. A report due out this summer could show the highest number of homeless deaths the county has seen in a single year.
Steinberg’s next term will be pivotal, as he tries to safeguard Measure U revenue to uplift underserved neighborhoods, as promised leading up to voter approval in November 2018. That could be challenging as the city could be facing a $21 million deficit in the fiscal year starting July 1, 2021, as pension payments sharply rise.
This story was originally published March 3, 2020 at 8:19 PM.
