The city of Sacramento investigated itself and found no wrongdoing. Sounds about right

Can the city of Sacramento investigate itself? That remains an open question after a lawyer contracted by the city ruled that Councilman Sean Loloee lives in his district despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

The 19-page report, full of redactions, is disappointing to say the least. It seems to disregard confusing and contradictory statements that Loloee himself made to The Bee and other news outlets. And it appears to fully accept Loloee’s version of events.

“I am satisfied that this inquiry was thorough and conducted in a professional manner,” said City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood.

Of course she is.

Loloee told The Bee in June that his family had lived in a Nogales Street home for months, “seven days a week.” He also said he and his family had moved to another home within his City Council district for a time and then returned to the Nogales Street home.

Loloee further insisted to The Bee that the man currently living in the home was a “former tenant.” But the city’s report suggests that the man and his family have been in the Nogales Street home since 2020.

The councilman also said the $1.4 million home his wife owns in Granite Bay has been empty for two years. He maintains that he was sworn into office at a friend’s home in East Sacramento despite photographs suggesting he was at the Granite Bay home. He subsequently said that where he was sworn in is “nobody’s business.”

When The Bee started asking questions about Loloee’s residence, neighbors on Nogales Street said they had never seen him at the home he claims to live in. A man who identified himself as Loloee’s tenant even said Loloee does not live there.

The city’s report on the issue mentions none of this. Instead, it portrays Loloee as a man attempting to protect his family while honoring his wife’s wishes and Iranian traditions by owning separate homes. It also says that Loloee’s wife moved out of the Nogales Street house in 2020 despite Loloee’s recent claim that his wife and children still live there full-time.

And while police reports revealed several incidents at the Nogales Street location, including a situation in which a man was brandishing a gun, the city’s report newly alleges vandalism at the home and claims the Loloee family received phone calls urging them to “go back to where you came from,” which supposedly motivated Loloee’s wife to move out.

The simple truth is that the city’s report looks like a whitewash.

Loloee’s case was investigated by longtime Sacramento attorney Melinda Guzman, who has made her mark on Sacramento politics before. She previously represented former UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi against allegations of nepotism and mismanagement.

Loloee remains under investigation by the Fair Political Practices Commission, the state agency that enforces campaign finance laws. The commission received a complaint that alleged the councilman did not report income on a disclosure form required of elected officials.

Second District voters should remember this sorry episode when Loloee comes up for reelection two years from now. The district — which includes Old North Sacramento, Hagginwood, Woodlake, Del Paso Heights and part of Robla — is among the most economically disadvantaged in the city.

The district’s voters don’t just deserve a representative who is transparent, represents their interests and actually lives among them; they need one.