If Sacramento County voters care about climate change, they should reject this candidate

Pat Hume seems like an amiable guy. The Elk Grove city councilman gives the impression of being sensible and grounded. He’s probably the favorite to be elected to the staid Sacramento County Board of Supervisors in November in a down-ballot race that, as usual, isn’t getting enough attention.

But if you’re worried about climate change, air pollution and gridlock on our roads, then Hume should be viewed as anything but sensible. If you care about these issues and you’re a voter in Sacramento Supervisorial District 5, which runs from Rancho Cordova to the south and includes Elk Grove, Galt and Isleton, then Hume’s candidacy should concern you.

Hume’s own words on climate change are bad enough, but first, consider the way a former colleague and political insider described him: “(Hume’s) a guy who looks at the pattern of development and thinks that’s the way we ought to continue into the future,” said Roger Dickinson, a former Sacramento County supervisor and state assemblyman. “The reality is, that’s a disaster if we do that.”

Dickinson also served with Hume on the Regional Transit board, where he said it became clear to him that Hume does not view climate change as a concern.

“If (Hume) is elected, what you get is more of what you’ve gotten,” Dickinson said, adding that if Hume’s opponent Jaclyn Moreno gets elected, it would signal “dramatic change and a coming to terms with urban growth and climate change.”

Case in point: Hume supports Measure A while Moreno opposes it. If approved by county voters, Measure A could blow up climate goals in the Sacramento region. It would implement a regressive sales tax increase that would fund transportation projects that will increase sprawl and traffic congestion.

Signature gathering for the measure was bankrolled by some of the same development and business interests that will profit from Measure A. And guess what? Those interests are heavily invested in Hume’s campaign.

“As I’m talking to voters, the important things to them are safe neighborhoods, clean streets, addressing homelessness in a meaningful way and the rising cost of housing and goods and gas and everything that they need to live,” Hume said. “So (climate) is an important issue, but it’s not top one or two.”

Hume added that he doesn’t believe climate change should be a “top issue” for a county supervisor, saying it should be addressed with a climate action plan or via state regulations.

This ignorant take should be disqualifying for an elected official in Sacramento. His comments are also disingenuous, given that Sacramento County has been working on a Climate Action Plan for the better part of a decade with little success. Meanwhile, the effects of climate change in Sacramento grow more pronounced each summer..

How many 116-degree and unhealthy air days is it going to take before Hume’s words are viewed as unacceptable by voters?

Meanwhile, Hume’s campaign financial disclosures read like a “who’s who” of Sacramento-area developers and construction business interests, many of whom share Hume’s view that the county’s climate regulations are a low priority and support increased developments — and cash flow — at the farthest flung edges of the county.

PG&E gave Hume $2,700 earlier this month; Lund Construction Co. gave another $2,700; Fulcrum Property Group gave $5,400; and Diane Butz, the founder of Hanford Ready Mix, donated $1,300, as did current county supervisor Sue Frost.

DesCor Builders from Rancho Cordova have donated $2,700; Anton DevCo gave $2,700; Elliot Homes in Folsom gave $5,400; Montez Glass has given $2,700; C5 Consulting has given $1,300 and JR Hanson Consulting has donated $1,800.

But now the real money is pouring in for Hume. According to campaign filings, the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber Political Action Committee contributed more than $62,000 in independent expenditures to Hume’s campaign. The Committee for Homeownership, sponsored by North State Building Industry Association, has contributed more than $120,000 in independent expenditures to Hume’s campaign this month.

Hume supports the Southeast Capital Connector, a 34-mile expressway that would link Folsom, Rancho Cordova and Elk Grove if Measure A is approved.

He also wholeheartedly supports expansion at the county’s edges, which would encircle the Southeast Connector, but would threaten the region’s remaining chances at climate-conscious light rail expansions and would encourage a deeper reliance on cars.

“There’s a lot of consternation about negative impacts that the (Southeast) Connector may have,” Hume said. “But I think there’s pretty good mitigation baked into the programmatic (Environmental Impact Review) that has been passed on how this project will be delivered.”

That mitigation? “A class one off-alignment (hiking) trail,” Hume said proudly.

Of course, if voters want Sacramento County to continue down the same path of inaction and debt to Sacramento developers, Hume is their guy.

But for anyone who’s paying attention, it’s clear the Southeast Capital Connector would further contribute to our climate crisis and create a new suburban spread on the county’s rural edges, miles from any transit options. Single-passenger traffic alone accounts for more than 40% of Sacramento County’s greenhouse gas emissions that poison our air.

“We can’t continue to sprawl and meet California’s climate goals,” said Oscar Balaguer, an environmental scientist who used to work for the state. “There’s a better way to grow, and we need leaders with vision to take us there.”

It’s not a coincidence that local developers, construction companies and real estate moguls have poured money into Hume’s campaign. They’re hoping for a friend among county supervisors.

That’s how politics works; there is no disputing that. But the Sacramento region can’t afford to elect any more candidates who dismiss climate the way Hume does. Maybe Hume’s political interests cloud his judgment, but he is completely, dangerously wrong in thinking that climate change is not a local issue.

Climate change is upending our lives, and Sacramento won’t make progress on reversing its effects by electing candidates like Pat Hume.

This story was originally published October 24, 2022 at 5:00 AM.