As Sacramento awaits mayoral race results, Flo Cofer and supporters are cautiously optimistic
The early results in Sacramento’s mayoral race could not rein in the optimism felt by candidate Flojaune Cofer and her supporters on Tuesday night.
A crowd of roughly 200 gathered at the Tipsy Putt in downtown Sacramento to celebrate the end of a Cofer’s campaign versus California Assemblyman Kevin McCarty. Most supporters remained hopeful despite McCarty leading in the early returns. McCarty held roughly 55.5% of the vote while Cofer had 44.5% as of results released in the last batch before Friday.
Sacramento councilwoman Mai Vang ran up to Cofer, who had been taking photos with attendees, after the second batch of results.
“You’re trending up,” Vang yelled.
Cofer merely snapped her fingers and continued with the photos, which lasted roughly another hour.
Throughout the night, she emphasized the need for patience and that her supporters tend to not be early voters. In last March’s primary election, the first round of results showed Cofer in last place among all four candidates.
“I know my people,” Cofer said. “My people were in line at 7:59 (p.m).”
“This is a repeat of March,” she later said. “We’re trending up and excited about it.”
She felt confident that a win was in her future and of those backing her.
“When we win this election, I’m going to need your help,” Cofer said, to a round of cheers. “We have a city to govern. We ran for mayor, and now we have to serve as mayor.”
Her supporters, which included Vang and fellow councilwoman Katie Valenzuela, began trickling into the venue around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Many believed that Cofer, if elected, would bring a new future and vision for Sacramento. They were particularly looking forward for her vision on addressing homelessness and public safety.
“She is going to bring change and unity,” said Sacramento resident Jessica Martin.
Others, including Teaira Harris and her 7-year-old daughter Miss-Jade Jamerson, were hopeful that Cofer could make history as Sacramento’s first Black female mayor.
“It’s important to see a woman, especially, a Black women in position to do good things for Sacramento,” Harris said.
“Yes,” Jameson said, with her hands around her mouth after her mother finished talking.
Cofer arrived to her watch party at 9:15 p.m. and was met with a loud eruption of cheers. On the stage, in front of a purple backdrop, she danced as supporters chanted “Flo.”
There, she spent most of her speech thanking those in attendance. She went through a list of duties that her supporters had performed for her campaign over the last year and a half.
“I’m grateful to all of you for inspiring me to dream and for dreaming with me about what that future can be,” Cofer said.
Cofer ended her speech with one last request for them.
“I hope to see you all in the dance floor with me,” Cofer said.
Additional results from the Sacramento County election officials will come at midnight, followed by additional results Friday and next week. A winner may not be declared for several weeks.
Who is Flo Cofer?
Cofer, 41, has worked in state and local public health policy. A South Sacramento neighborhood resident, she’s focused her campaign on policies to help the city’s underserved areas, including the homeless community.
Cofer also spent time as the chair of the city’s Measure U committee which advised officials on how to spend sales tax money intended to uplift disadvantaged communities and neighborhoods.
On the city’s biggest issue of homelessness, both candidates want to open homeless Safe Grounds for people to live while they await permanent housing.
On the topic of police, neither candidate wants to lay off officers, but Cofer wants to, over time, remove $70 million from the police budget and shift it toward hiring more non-police personnel to respond to non-criminal 911 calls. She said she selected that figure because that’s how much Measure U money has gone to the police.
Cofer referenced these upcoming challenges on Tuesday, saying that the community will come up with “better solutions.”
“We have to come up with better solutions than sweeping people from place to place with new destination,” Cofer said. “We have to come together to improve our transit so that we can all walk and bike and drive safely. We have to invest in public safety so that we have a more integrated and preventive approach. Because, as we’ve said a lot, none of us woke up this morning hoping to be a victim of crime.”
The two candidates also differ about whether to keep City Manager Howard Chan in his post. Chan is asking for a year-long contract extension before the end of the year. Minutes after the new mayor and two new council members are sworn in on Dec. 10, they will have to consider the contract extension. Cofer has said she will not support an extension because she won’t have enough time to evaluate his performance, which will mean he will quit. McCarty has said he would support keeping Chan in his post another year.
This story was originally published November 5, 2024 at 11:10 PM.
