This candidate is the right choice to represent Oak Park on Sacramento’s City Council

Sacramento’s 5th City Council District will look very different when the successor to retiring representative Jay Schenirer takes office. Curtis Park was notably — and controversially — removed from the district, which now spans from Oak Park to Parkway along Highway 99, where many households struggle to afford the region’s soaring cost of living.

Housing security, public safety, inequality and development are top of mind for voters in this district. Oak Park, a historically Black neighborhood, has experienced an exodus of longtime residents over the last decade as first-time home buyers and Bay Area expats seek an affordable area where California’s housing shortage is causing displacement. The pandemic supercharged these forces.

This year’s council race between city Transportation Commissioner Tamiko Heim, a state worker, and Sac SOUP (Solidarity of Unhoused People) cofounder Caity Maple has serious ramifications for constituents who need tireless leadership and measurable change. Maple is best positioned to deliver.

The 30-year-old progressive Democrat experienced homelessness as a teen and worked multiple jobs to fund her education, advancing from community college to UC Davis, where she graduated with a psychology degree. Maple joined the Chief Clerk’s Office in the state Assembly after college before landing jobs in public policy and advocacy for California Forward, a good government organization, and Perfect Union, a cannabis company.

Maple, now a consultant and homeless advocate, welcomes revitalization projects and major developments such as Aggie Square as long as the potential for displacement is addressed. An Oak Park Neighborhood Association board member, Maple was vocal about her reluctance regarding the project and joined the lawsuit that resulted in a more than $50 million community benefits agreement that will fund fair housing projects, add youth programs and establish a crucial workforce pipeline in adjacent neighborhoods.

On housing issues, Maple wants to revive the city’s inclusionary housing requirement for all projects and lower the threshold for the community benefits ordinance so more developments are supporting their neighborhoods, not rupturing them. She’s also clear-eyed about the lack of housing being the No. 1 cause of homelessness.

Heim, a Department of Motor Vehicles planning manager, was a late addition to the race after redistricting changes forced planning commissioner Kendra Macias Reed to end her campaign. But Heim quickly raised money to remain competitive with Maple, who began campaigning in 2020. Heim has sharp views on mobility and transportation as well as how a lack of transit access in District 5 increases carbon emissions. Her calls for infrastructure expansion, walkability improvements and tree-planting on unused parcels deserve attention.

Heim purchased her Oak Park home 16 years ago, when she was 26, and said she wants to increase homeownership rates among less fortunate groups that may not consider it an option. Heim also has several family members in law enforcement and received major contributions from police groups, although she assured The Bee’s Editorial Board that she “won’t be bought off” and can bridge strained relations with the community.

Maple, on the other hand, rejected law enforcement dollars. She said she supports the police budget but wants to bring long-ignored Sacramento Community Police Review Commission recommendations before the council to at least receive consideration.

Heim’s candidacy has been hurried, and, unfortunately, it shows. On several issues, she lacked a clear position, but will surely be more polished ahead of a competitive runoff election in November.

Maple has experience challenging deep-pocketed developers and powerful local institutions with the goal of making inclusive development more than a buzzword. Her compassion and empathy are evident, and her approach to the fraught issues Sacramento faces is more balanced than skeptics may expect.

As Oak Park and the new District 5 wrestle with displacement and the need for deeper investment to ensure neighborhoods are safe and businesses can thrive, Maple offers a brand of pragmatic progressivism that can deliver thoughtful leadership in an era of rapid transformation.

This story was originally published September 20, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "This candidate is the right choice to represent Oak Park on Sacramento’s City Council."