Who’s running for Sacramento’s District 1? Lisa Kaplan, Alyssa Lozano compete for Natomas seat
The Sacramento City Council’s District 1 covers much of Natomas, the growing neighborhood represented for the past 12 years by Angelique Ashby. Ashby is running for state Senate, creating an open race to succeed her.
District 1
Lisa Kaplan
Party: Democratic
Age: 47
Birthplace: Los Angeles
Residence: North Natomas
Occupation: Education and school construction attorney
Education: Juris Doctor, McGeorge School of Law; bachelor’s degree, Seattle University
Offices held: Trustee, Natomas Unified School District, 2002-present
Campaign website: www.kaplan4council.com
The city is in a severe homelessness crisis. What types of solutions are you in favor of? Safe Grounds? Large congregate shelters? Tiny homes? Something else? Where would you propose these be built in your district?
I am supportive of more projects similar to the conversion of the Natomas Staybridge hotel into housing for women and children. I believe in strengthening the partnership with the county to provide services to our unhoused community members in need, while also working with District 1 residents on building housing options for our unhoused. As school board president in 2020, I led the raising of funds from our community to house approximately 25 of our unhoused youth and their families in Natomas Unified. Providing stable housing for our homeless youth and their families is something I am very passionate about. Citywide, I believe there is not one solution that can address this crisis, but that the city must approach this from all angles, from expanding partnerships for homeless services with the county, while effectively coordinating those services and rapidly expanding housing options to get our unhoused neighbors off the streets.
What would you do to improve housing affordability in Sacramento?
Affordable housing continues to be a struggle in Sacramento and throughout California. In 2021, the City Council passed an eight-year housing plan (2021-2029), which lays out that Sacramento needs to construct over 45,000 units in this timeframe to meet our goal of unmet housing needs (or approximately 5,700 units a year). This is a daunting goal, for which we must focus on making sure the city is embracing creative solutions to bring in a variety of housing units into this region. Several items which the city must prioritize to meet its housing goals, includes streamlining the planning approval and building permit process, training and expanding the construction labor force, promoting the cost effective adaptive reuse of commercial and office buildings for housing, continue promoting the development of accessory dwelling units, and encouraging infill housing development along commercial corridors, near employment centers and near high-frequency transit.
The Sacramento Police Department often asks the council for more funding, saying their staffing levels have not kept up with the city’s growth over the last decade. Activists say we need to reduce police funding and reallocate it to mental health and youth programs. Would you vote to substantially increase the police budget to add more police officers?
Systematic cuts to public safety services in Sacramento since 2009 have left police officers on the front lines responding to social challenges for which they have not been trained, from mental health crises, to homelessness, to the opioid / illegal drug epidemic. The city must continue to fund in the budget, allocate funds from Measure U and collaborate with the city manager and chief of police on hiring the right individuals who are trained to handle these issues. The city should also bolster community policing approaches — so officers can establish community relationships in the areas they work in, as well as, continue building effective partnerships with mental health and substance use counselors to help respond to public health challenges in the best way possible. Rebuilding the community trust with our public safety department is a must. The adoption of policies banning the use of chokehold, carotid holds and permitting deadly force only when necessary and as a last resort to prevent an imminent threat to life are the appropriate strategies the city and police should continue taking to improve law enforcement as well as the public’s perception of law enforcement. Finally, I support the city continuing to expand their partnerships with high quality nonprofits and local school districts to increase effective after school youth programs as one measure in addressing the increase in youth violence across the city.
Alyssa Lozano
Party: Democratic
Age: 42
Birthplace: Sacramento
Residence: Natomas Park, District 1
Occupation: Real estate education — I’m a licensed realtor who possesses certificates of accreditation in many aspects of the industry. I also have attended hundreds of business management seminars and have a fond appreciation for vocational educational tracks.
Offices held: None
Campaign website address: www.Lozanoforsacramento.com
The city is in a severe homelessness crisis. What types of solutions are you in favor of? Safe Grounds? Large congregate shelters? Tiny homes? Something else? Where would you propose these be built in your district?
We cannot accept a sidewalk as a home. Sacramento is filled with people who are compassionate, caring, and creative. We can lead with compassion, but we must be mindful of the programs that are working and those that have failed. In the past few years, the city of Sacramento has spent over $100 million on homelessness programs , yet Sacramento now has more homeless than San Francisco. Tackling our homelessness crisis will take cooperation from Sacramento County and every council member. I think the Haven for Hope transformational campus is an example of what we can do locally if we partner with the county. So as your council member, my priority is to ensure the city is investing in shelters and adequate health services in partnership with local hospitals. But this investment will include a full review of what is working and is not.
What would you do to improve housing affordability in Sacramento?
It is no secret why housing is so expensive. It stems from a lack of will by those elected to office to change it. A developer must go through multiple layers of government agencies: building department, planning, health, fire, city council, etc. The North State Building Industry Association reported in 2021 that in the Sacramento Region, development fees average about $95,000 per house. Then we have multiple environmental impact regulations (CEQA) that are often abused to prevent new development — often delaying projects by an average of 2 1/2 years. The City of Sacramento should be a partner in building more housing by streamlining the regulations and reducing the permitting and regulatory fees.
The Sacramento Police Department often asks the council for more funding, saying their staffing levels have not kept up with the city’s growth over the last decade. Activists say we need to reduce police funding and reallocate it to mental health and youth programs. Would you vote to substantially increase the police budget to add more police officers?
I’m a mother of two young men, a coach, a scorekeeper, a team mom, and a business owner. A lot of people I talk with are upset. I can understand why they’re upset because no one is giving them answers. Elected officials have a responsibility to protect the people. When someone commits a crime, they must be held fully accountable. But we must also address the root causes of crime – from poverty — to substance abuse or the lack of access to jobs and supportive services. This is not a zero-sum game. We can be a community that invests in our police force and holds them accountable. I will work with our community and police to ensure our public safety officers are in the best and most qualified position to do what we as citizens require: to protect and serve.
