A victorious Kevin McCarty finds himself in the lonely middle of Sacramento politics | Opinion

Sacramento’s 57th mayor will have great similarities with the city’s 56th: A veteran state legislator returning to his city roots to lead amid an era of transition.

Sacramento, based on votes still being tallied, appears to have chosen outgoing assemblyman Kevin McCarty to replace Darrell Steinberg. This reflects a historic pattern by city voters (with some exceptions) to reward political experience over civic activism.

Yet the skills to make a great legislator inside California’s Capitol, where laws and budgets are crafted with stakeholders on a statewide stage, are quite different from what it takes to get things done in a capital city challenged by homelessness, economic disparities and limited fiscal means.

The job of Sacramento’s mayor does not come with much structural power, such as the ability to hire and fire even a single staffer. Any power they wield comes from cobbling together a coalition of council members and community interests to forge a defined path forward.

McCarty starts on Dec. 10 as just one of nine votes on this council. That is some pretty humble political math. Converting that to power is the test of Sacramento leadership, to bridge the city’s political divide between neighborhoods like the affluent Fabulous Forties and needful Del Paso Heights.

McCarty arguably finds himself in the lonely middle of Sacramento politics. He was more of the consensus candidate than one of the initial favorites. City business interests largely gravitated to candidates Steve Hansen and Richard Pan in the March primary. Many of the city’s activists and progressive interests, meanwhile coalesced around public health expert, Dr. Flojaune Cofer.

McCarty had enough community and labor support to sneak into second place in March after Cofer stormed back from fourth place on election night to take a solid lead. And over the summer and fall, he ultimately managed to pull enough Hansen and Pan supporters into his camp to win.

Given how the county’s homeless problem is concentrated in the city, it is no surprise that the issue dominated the race; McCarty ran against Cofer’s strategy on homelessness rather than highlighting his own.

Politically, it worked. In practicality, it remains unclear precisely how to deal with the toughest dimension of the homeless issue — the nearly 2,000 souls living on the streets who are not receiving from the county the mental health services that they desperately need.

Sweeping them into the city is one thing. Getting them off the streets and into services and housing is where the county has fallen woefully short. McCarty’s plan highlights a partnership with this same problematic county while removing encampments. Steinberg was unfairly blamed for the problem despite his efforts by factions in town that did not support McCarty in the primary. McCarty also has few close allies on this issue, other than a district attorney who continues to sue the city for its response to homelessness. Some ally.

The city’s fiscal mess will arguably be McCarty’s other greatest challenge. The coming budget has an initial projection of a shortfall approaching $80 million. The previous council has eliminated frozen positions and raised fees on parking and just about everything else, but not made structural changes that undoubtedly would impact the sacred cows of the police and fire budgets. And instead of focusing on the city’s fiscal house in recent months, City Manager Howard Chan has distracted the city with his never-ending requests for a longer contract and more money.

Cofer had a vision for how to improve public safety in a cost-effective way. The left-leaning McCarty found himself the status quo candidate. It’s understandable why a lot of voters may resist change, but the city cannot afford the status quo, however. That reality will be confronted — in one way or another — during McCarty’s tenure as mayor.

In the end, McCarty has given himself the opportunity to be a successful mayor in Sacramento from years of hard work. As he was earlier profiled by The Bee, when McCarty found himself flunking out of high school, he turned himself around and has been on an upward trajectory ever since; a truly inspirational story.

Now McCarty faces his greatest challenge yet as Sacramento’s mayor. May he succeed, stretching his smarts and skills to their limits. Sacramento desperately needs it.

This story was originally published November 27, 2024 at 5:00 AM.