Sacramento mayoral election is Tuesday. Here’s everything you need to know
The city of Sacramento is on the verge of a new chapter.
For the first time in eight years, the city will elect a new mayor, and it may also be getting a new city manager. Mayor Darrell Steinberg did not run for re-election, and the race to replace him — between Assemblyman Kevin McCarty and Flojaune Cofer — comes to a head next Tuesday on Election Day.
During the last 17 months, both candidates have knocked on thousands of doors, participated in over a dozen debates and hosted countless fundraisers.
Along the way, McCarty has highlighted his experience as a politician, both in the state assembly and on the City Council, the things he has accomplished and the relationships he has built. Meanwhile, Cofer, who is farther left politically, has highlighted that she’s never run for office and would bring a fresh perspective.
Whoever wins, they will still need to win the votes of at least four other council members in order to pass ordinances. That’s due to the city’s so-called weak mayor form of government, which both candidates say they support.
Sacramento’s second Black mayor
For only the second time in the city’s 174-year history, with the election of Cofer or McCarty, the city would have its second Black mayor. Both Cofer and McCarty, the two most progressive candidates in this year’s mayoral race, found strong support during the primary among lower-income Sacramento voters — voters who often are disillusioned or disengaged with politics. Cofer or McCarty will make history as Sacramento’s second Black mayor. How do they see that legacy?
On homelessness, use of parks
Both candidates agree the number one issue voters care about this election cycle is homelessness. Both have proposed the city open sanctioned campgrounds where people can live in trailers, tiny homes or tents with water, food and bathrooms as they await permanent housing. They differ on how this would look. How would Sacramento mayoral hopefuls differ in their handling of homeless crisis?
Sacramento has more than 200 parks. How will each mayoral candidate support them? Both candidates expressed interest in partnering with local businesses to increase economic development. At parks, this could be either in the form of food truck festivals including events with local musicians.
Before the March primary, Cofer said she wanted to explore opening homeless Safe Grounds in “underutilized” city parks. Since then, it’s become a talking point for her opponent, who has brought it up in multiple candidate forums. Ad slams Sacramento mayoral candidate for views on homeless sites in city parks. Is it true?
On policing, city government
How do Sacramento mayoral candidates differ on police funding and accountability? In the last three budget cycles, the police budget was a contentious topic among council members. Both candidates agree to not lay off police officers. Cofer wants to shift $70 million away from the police budget over time. McCarty, who is endorsed by the Sacramento Police Officers Association, would like to grow the police budget by adding officers, though not for the fiscal year that starts July 1, due to a projected $77 million deficit.
One of the first orders of business for the next mayor may be the decision of whether or not to extend City Manger Howard Chan’s contract. Chan, one of the highest paid executives in the state, earned earned $593,240 in total wages last year — more than Gov. Gavin Newsom and any other city manager in the state. One mayoral candidate would keep Sacramento city manager around another year. The other would not.
On business
Sacramento’s downtown was shaped in part by a wave of redevelopment in the 1960s, when the city pushed residential neighborhoods out of the urban core in favor of a more office-centric district. The next mayor will be tasked with seeing the city through a budget deficit, fielding the frustrations of residents calling for more affordable housing and managing the needs of business owners challenged by post-COVID economic shifts. A downtown Sacramento revival? Here’s how mayoral hopefuls want to transform the grid.
Across the river from downtown sits Northgate Boulevard, which houses more than 150 small businesses and restaurants line the primarily Latino, working-class boulevard. But the area’s growth has faced challenges with inconsistent investment over the decades. Could new Sacramento mayor continue Northgate Boulevard’s revival after years of neglect?
The Sacramento region’s world of sports has expanded and will continue to grow in the coming year with the addition of the A’s moving from Oakland. Though the stadium is outside Sacramento city limits, it carries implications for the capital city’s economy. From A’s to possible soccer stadium, mayor candidates talk future of Sacramento sports.
Who is funding the mayoral candidates?
Local business groups and developers have been funneling money to the more established McCarty, a former councilman and current state assemblyman, according to campaign finance documents filed with the city. Cofer, who has not held elected office before, is seeing mostly smaller donations from individuals. One Sacramento mayoral hopeful has raised twice as much as opponent. Who’s funding both?
This story was originally published November 1, 2024 at 12:00 PM.
