Sacramento Bee Editorial Board withdraws its endorsement of Allen Warren. Here’s why

The Sacramento Bee Editorial Board is withdrawing its endorsement of Allen Warren, who represents District 2 on the Sacramento City Council and is currently running for re-election.

In February, The Bee Editorial Board tepidly endorsed Warren for a third term. Our editorial noted that while Warren sometimes had refreshingly bold ideas, he had yet to translate them into action. It also highlighted Warren’s seemingly strong support for homeless solutions and pushed him to make good on his words.

What we didn’t know at the time is that Warren, a developer who grew up in the district he represents, is seriously delinquent on his property taxes. On Sunday, a story by Bee reporters Theresa Clift and Dale Kasler revealed that Warren owes over $200,000 in taxes.

“A real estate developer, Warren has been issued notices for delinquent federal, state and county taxes totaling at least $472,080 since 2015, according to a Sacramento Bee review of documents filed at the Sacramento County Recorder’s Office,” wrote Clift and Kasler. “He still owes $203,392. He also is behind on at least $822,926 worth of loans on properties, records show.”

Sacramento County has even threatened to take away Warren’s company headquarters on Del Paso Boulevard if he doesn’t pay a $17,000 property tax bill that was due seven years ago. These aren’t small bills that Warren accidentally overlooked. Warren’s flagrant nonpayment of taxes calls into question his credibility as a city leader.

But Warren’s big unpaid tax bills haven’t stopped him from pumping big money into his own campaign.

“Since Jan. 1, Warren has put $20,000 in cash and $150,400 in loans into his campaign, campaign finance records show,” reported The Bee. “Of the loans, $109,400 have so far been paid back.”

As someone entrusted to help decide how taxpayer dollars get spent, Warren should know better than to play the deadbeat when it comes to his own taxes. It’s not clear why he’s running for office again instead of taking a break from public life to get his business affairs in order.

“This kind of stuff is not uncommon for somebody that has lots of properties,” Warren said, shrugging off his tax nightmare. “They will be paid.”

Warren’s shameful tax debacle drew quick criticism from his District 2 rival, Sean Loloee. But Loloee has his own problems. Latino workers at the Viva Supermarket chain he owns have accused him of “being a ‘tyrant’ employer who withheld overtime pay and committed other labor law violations.” The workers filed a class-action lawsuit against Loloee in 2019, according to a story by the Davis Vanguard.

During an interview with The Editorial Board earlier this year, Loloee was unimpressive. While we no longer support Warren, we cannot in good faith endorse Loloee.

Hopefully, Allen Warren will pay his delinquent taxes. Hopefully, the people of District 2 will have better choices to represent them in the next election.

The Sacramento Bee Editorial Board rescinds its endorsement of Allen Warren and makes no recommendation in the District 2 council race.

This story was originally published October 13, 2020 at 5:00 AM.