Sacramento ‘people’s campaign’ pushed for rent control, but voters rejected Measure C

It doesn’t look like Sacramento voters will be embracing a socialist revolution anytime soon.

As of Wednesday morning, 62% of Sacramento voters were rejecting Measure C, a rent control law pushed onto the ballot by the local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. With votes still being tallied, Measure C is on track to lose by a wide margin. Proposition 21, a statewide rent control measure, also lost big.

Measure C would have imposed stricter rent control laws and created a new rent board. DSA activists pushed for the law after breaking a deal with the Sacramento City Council last year.

To recap: Housing activists, including members of the powerful SEIU 1000 union, had threatened to put a rent control measure on the ballot unless the City Council took action. The union then funded a successful signature-gathering drive to place the measure on the ballot, forcing the City Council to pass the Sacramento Tenant Protection and Relief Act.

Claiming victory, two of the rent control measure’s three proponents made good on their word and moved to pull the measure from the ballot. But one of the proponents, egged on by the local DSA chapter, broke her promise and pressed ahead with Measure C.

Measure C’s proponents broke a deal with the City Council, picked a fight with wealthy landlords and, anointing themselves as the “people’s campaign,” pursued a ballot battle without the resources or strategy needed to win.

When the people of Sacramento made their voices heard, they delivered a resounding defeat for Measure C. Even if Measure C had passed, it might have been invalidated due to legal challenges.

Measure C’s failure should serve as a wake-up call for its most vocal supporters, including District 4 Councilperson-elect Katie Valenzuela. She spearheaded the doomed campaign, backed by the DSA, the Democratic Party of Sacramento County and the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment. Measure C’s failure provides a glimpse of the odds she’ll face on a City Council where she gets only one vote.

Sacramento needs the new ideas and energy that Valenzuela, a democratic socialist, represents. To be effective, however, Valenzuela and her allies must find a way to build consensus and get things done.

This story was originally published November 5, 2020 at 5:00 AM.