Want to clean up the political mess in Sacramento County? Here’s a candidate to vote for
Why is it critical to elect Gregg Fishman to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors in November? Because Sacramento County is a mess politically and as the biggest government in our region, it is too important to function as miserably as it does .
The former president of the SMUD Board of Directors, Fishman is the only real independent voice running for a county board in dire need of a reset and a reminder that it represents every day people who deserve better and not just those interests invested in maintaining the status quo.
What status quo?
Let’s review recent county history: In August, the Bee reported that the county had spent $104 million in federal money meant for COVID relief to cover the payroll of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department. That revelation became public, forcing the board to allocate $45 million to the county health department so it could actually step up its efforts to fight COVID-19. That late August allocation came four months after the county received $181 million of COVID relief from the federal government.
That was four wasted months in a county that has reported nearly 24,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 450 deaths.
Meanwhile, the largest law enforcement agency in Sacramento – the sheriff – put the county in a budget bind before COVID because of multi-million dollar judgments based on lawsuits filed against the department for excessive force and cruelty at the main jail.
As I wrote in June: “The county spends more of what it considers “net county cost dollars” — such as those taxes you pay on your property or every time you purchase taxable goods — on the Sheriff’s Office than on its entire social services budget.... Child, family and adult services, probation, the public defender, human assistance, child support services, the county coroner, in-home supportive services and more.”
As a result, county health, child protective services, homeless services and other vital agencies have had to compete for limited dollars. Good projects, such as the one targeting disproportionate deaths among black babies, haven’t been funded as well as they should be.
A sheriff-controlled board
Amid a pandemic and the pain of homelessness and surging rents, the whole county system is set up to service law enforcement and incarceration. That system is run by a sheriff – Scott Jones – who behaves like a loyal acolyte of President Donald Trump. So does Kevin Mickelson of the Sacramento County Deputy Sheriff’s Association. MIckelson who loves to pose in Trump face masks for his Twitter page.
He loves to use his social media platform to sow dissension and spread fear.
And wouldn’t you know it? The Mickelson-led association is the biggest contributor to Fishman’s opponent, Rich Desmond – a former California Highway Patrol officer.
Desmond is also the handpicked choice of Susan Peters, the outgoing supervisor for District 3, which includes Arden Arcade, Carmichael and Fair Oaks.
What has Peters been for? Jones, developers, the DSA.
What has Peters been against? Rent relief, anyone opposing Jones, and increased public attendance at supervisors meetings.
By word and deed, Peters has been a reliable vote against increasing democracy and voter participation in the county. She voted against night meetings that would have allowed more people to attend supervisors meetings that need more scrutiny. She voted against moving the elections of the sheriff and the district attorney to presidential years to increase voter participation.
She voted against a temporary ban on no-fault evictions last November, just before Thanksgiving. Despite a packed chamber of desperate people who spoke for more than an hour, Peters said that she had only received “two phone calls” on the issue. Right after voting “no,” Peters and Supervisor Sue Frost skulked out of the supervisors chambers as the audience booed and hissed.
In March, she voted no on a temporary evictions ban to protect people who lost their jobs because of COVID-19.
Peters represents – and Desmond covets representing – a district where about 19% of residents live below the federal poverty line. That’s higher than the county average of 16%.
Desmond is the handpicked choice of Peters and the DSA. He is getting big financial support from the DSA and from the financial patrons who previously helped Peters. So ask yourself this: How can he claim he will be any different than she?
An election of clear choice
He does, of course.
But based on his financial support, it’s pretty clear a vote for Desmond is a vote to keep things just as they are.
With a ready smile and an amiable manner, Desmond is essentially taking the baton and the blessings of the people who have been funding the same political seat for years. I’ve met him, he’s interviewed with The Bee editorial board. He’s not a bad guy, just the wrong guy at the wrong time for this job.
One thing that has hurt the county are facile leaders with cozy relations with the status quo. There is enough of that already.
After COVID-19 and the bungled response to it from Sacramento County, why would county voters want someone so closely aligned with the status quo?
The alternative candidate
Fishman is an appealing alternative because he is not beholden to the same groups that funded Peters and want to fund Desmond. He is appealing because he does want to help a wider swath of people in the county who need help.
Fishman is appealing because he is levelheaded. He’s not an ideologue. Unlike Desmond, he is the only true challenger in this race.
“I want to see a supervisor who is concerned with helping people in need and I’m not sure Desmond is it,” said Arden Arcade resident Briana Mullen, 27.
“(Desmond) seems concerned with helping people whose needs have already been met.” Mullen said. She added that Peters has seemed more concerned with “adding strip malls, liquor stores and check cashing” spots in her area.
“I would love to see (Fishman) get elected,” Mullen said. “He has empathy for people and a lot of executive experience.”
Fishman, 60, has served on the SMUD board since 2015. He helped SMUD pass an “integrated resource” plan that the California Energy Commission called “an ambitious road map for lowering greenhouse gas emissions in the Sacramento region.”
When Peters announced she was stepping down, Fishman ran for the right reasons: “Counties should help improve people’s lives,” he said.
“The county manages public health programs and helps people with mental health, drug abuse issues,” he said. “Counties do Cal-Fresh for food insecurity, and counties also issue building permits and enact land-use rules. build and maintain roads and other infrastructure. We can streamline permitting and inspections, business licensing, and a lot of other things that can help businesses get back on track from this economic downturn.”
Though he is being substantially outspent by Desmond, which is another reason to have misgivings about him, Fishman is energizing voters who want a change from the status quo.
“I’ve watched Susan Peters and found her not to be interested in the issues I’m interested in,” said Evan Minton, a Fair Oaks resident.
“We need someone on the board who is committed to humanely address the issue of homelessness...We have a rogue sheriff and, because of the votes on the board, we can’t hold him accountable.”
Fishman is in a tough race, no question. Desmond’s family goes way back in Sacramento. He has a lot of influential friends in his corner, including some Democrats who prove an axiom about some Democrats: That they are progressive until they are not.
The county needs to change and Desmond is supported by more than a half dozen law enforcement groups, led by the DSA.
When I called out Mickelson for flaunting his Trump mask while representing a group of sworn peace officers, do you know what he did? He took another picture of himself wearing a Trump mask and posted it on my Facebook page.
Cool, huh?
The DSA has reported more than $80,000 in independent expenditures to Desmond’s campaign. What do you imagine the man in the Trump mask will expect for that kind of support?
Desmond’s campaign financials also show he has received help from Axiom Strategies, a Kansas City-based consulting firm that has represented odious candidates such as Republican candidates U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and U.S. Sen. Martha McSally.
OK, politics are politics. But let’s end with this: Gregg Fishman’s measured presence is what the county needs to help a broader swath of people and to make the county government accountable to its citizens. He also would break up the twosome of “no” votes that Peters and Frost have used to deny public access to meetings or help people in need.
“ I think the Board needs to listen more,” he Fishman said. “It needs to make it easier for people to comment, not just at public meetings, but about issues, about problems...You can’t please all the people all the time, but you can listen, and explain clearly why you are deciding a given issue in the way you are. As a board member I’ll explain as plainly as I can how and why I am voting.”
This story was originally published October 15, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
