Is Sacramento councilman Jeff Harris a racist? His own actions have invited the question
On Tuesday, Sacramento City councilman Jeff Harris’ council colleagues were right to be considering a motion to censure him. This a dramatic step, particularly on a council that is tolerant to a fault of other members: After all, Councilman Sean Loloee is still serving despite evidence that he doesn’t even live in his district.
But Harris’ shows of disrespect aren’t new: He’s refused to stand before council meetings to acknowledge that Sacramento is land that was stolen from Native Americans. He has been a consistent opponent of efforts to direct more city funds to youth services in diverse communities.
Harris is currently attempting to remove a citizen member of the Community Police Review Commission — a Black man — for publicly suggesting Harris is a racist, during a council meeting last month.
Now, without offering any proof, he’s accused councilmember Katie Valenzuela of being bribed by tribal casinos to champion a city resolution acknowledging Indigenous People’s Day.
Harris is leaving the council because redrawn city maps moved his East Sacramento base outside his district. But his behavior and comments should be censured anyway.
Valenzuela had asked Harris about adding a resolution to acknowledge Indigenous People’s Day at the Oct. 11 city council meeting, the closest meeting to Columbus Day. Harris responded by saying he would only support the resolution if Valenzuela confirmed she wasn’t receiving donations from the Elk Grove-based WIlton Rancheria tribe and Sky River casino.
She’s not, but the idea that only the recipient of bribes would show that respect is outrageous.
“KV has not communicated what ‘comments and actions’ she has taken exception to,” Harris said in a text message to The Bee on Tuesday. “I can say this; she has made no attempt to speak to me or otherwise address what is on her mind. Like her police review commissioner, it would seem that her intention is to make accusations publicly, and see where it leads her.”
That is a reference to Harris’ attempt to remove police review commissioner, Keyan Bliss, for accusing Harris of being “as racist as Jim Crow” at a recent council meeting during a public comment period.
Harris’ attempt to remove Bliss didn’t work. Instead, one Bliss supporter after another spoke in his favor, and Harris ultimately pulled the item.
But his comments and actions have undermined the city’s efforts to work toward racial equity.
Standing against a simple resolution to acknowledge Indigenous People’s Day is an odd fight to pick.
“Recognizing Indigenous People’s Day once a year is more than appropriate, and the least we can do,” Mayor Darrell Steinberg said after the resolution was presented at the Oct. 11 city council meeting. “We are living in a very fraught time right now and I think it is incumbent on all of us to dig deeper, to understand history, to understand the pain that history brings so many people.”
This isn’t political, but a matter of human decency. This is not ideological, but a show of respect for other cultures and other perspectives.
Indigenous People’s Day is a time of mourning and remembrance of the atrocities committed against Native Americans, and it’s a celebration of survival. It’s not as if Harris hasn’t shown empathy for underrepresented communities in the past. He has. In 2021, Harris was a vocal critic of leaders at St. Francis High School for failing to hear the protests of Black students protesting racism on campus.
But in his dealings as a councilman, Harris has given people reason to wonder about his motivations. Harris’ time remaining with the city may be short, but he should still take this opportunity to learn from his mistakes instead of continuing to be divisive.
This story was originally published October 12, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
