Incumbent candidate Rich Desmond does not deserve your vote. With a career in law enforcement as a former Chief of California Highway Patrol, he unsurprisingly supports policies that are violent and disinvest in our communities. Desmond’s support for a jail expansion effort that would cost Sacramentans almost $1 billion for a mental health jail, that still fails to comply with a legally binding consent decree Sacramento County is obligated to meet, is disqualifying. Truly disappointing that at a time when so many local candidates are running for statewide office, this critically important role directly responsible for overseeing all of Sacramento County is going unopposed. 

Options

Noel Andrew Calvillo | calvilloforjudge.com

• Current occupation: Administrative Law Judge

• Candidate summary: "...will not accept endorsements or donations from special interest groups, law enforcement, or lawyers, including prosecutors and defense attorneys"

• Key endorsements to consider: 

  • Organizations: Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen

  • Elected Officials: Sacramento County Supervisors Phil Serna and Don Nottoli (former)

Amy Holliday | hollidayforjudge.com 

• Current occupation: Deputy District Attorney

• Candidate summary: Supported by all the worst actors in Sacramento

• Key endorsements to consider: 

  • Organizations: Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs' Association, Sacramento County Police Officers' Association, Sacramento County Police Chiefs, Elk Grove Police Officers Association, Sacramento County Law Enforcement Managers' Association, 

  • Elected Officials: Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho and Anne Marie Schubert (former), Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper and Scott Jones (former), 

  • Other superior court judges: Sacramento Superior Court judges Maryanne Gilliard, Steve White, Kevin McCormick, Michael Sweet, Curtis Fiorini, Tami Bogert, Donald Currier, Shauna Franklin, James McFetridge, Patrick Marlette, Ernest Sawtelle, Matthew Gary, Delbert Oros, James Arguelles, Laurel White and retired judges Michael Savage, Marjorie Keller, Paul Seave, Cheryl Meegan, Eugene Balonon, Greta Fall, Placer Superior Court judge Garen Horst and retired judge Mark Curry, Contra Costa Superior Court judge MaryAnn O'Malley and retired judge Dan O'Malley

Bobby P Luna | lunaforjudge.com 

• Current occupation: Adjunct Professor and Attorney

• Candidate summary: Served in the United States Air Force, supported by private law practices

District 1

• • Andrés Ramos

  • David Lee Mandel

  • Mohammad “Mo” Kashmiri

  • Shirley Toy

  • Fatima Malik

  • Tamika L’Ecluse

District 2

• • Justin “J.D.” Garcia

District 3

• • John D. Kincaid

  • Rae Ellen Vander Werf

District 4

• • Chris Yatooma

District 5

• • Monica Madrid

  • Yassar Dahbour

  • Lee “Marsha” Miller

  • Randa Allathkani

• Current Role: Epidemiologist, Senior Policy Director at Public Health Advocates 

• Key endorsements to consider: 

  • Organizations: Sunrise Movement Sacramento

  • Elected Officials: Sacramento City Councilmembers Katie Valenzuela and Mai Vang

• Flojaune Cofer 2024 Candidate Questionnaire - submitted 10-26-23.pdf

• Sunrise Sacramento Candidate Interview: Dr. Flojaune Cofer

• Dr. Flo Cofer holding the Mayor accountable - Note: From 2020 role as Measure U Community Advisory Committee Chair

• Sunriser speaking in defense of her campaign and attempts to attack her 

• Sunrise endorsing her campaign

• Current Role: Sacramento City Councilmember (incumbent), Senior Policy Advocate at Central Valley Air Quality Coalition

• Key endorsements to consider: 

  • Organizations: Sunrise Movement Sacramento

• Katie Valenzuela 2024 Candidate Questionnaire - submitted 8-27-23.pdf

• Sunrise Sacramento Candidate Interview: Katie Valenzuela

• Current Role: Sacramento City Councilmember (incumbent)

• Key endorsements to consider: 

  • Organizations: We had previously endorsed Mai's first campaign for city council in 2020. She did not seek our support for this primary election.

  • Elected Officials: Sacramento City Councilmember Katie Valenzuela

• Sunrise Sacramento Candidate Interview: Mai Vang - Note: From 2020 election 

We have been in contact with local voters who have received calls from out-of-city real estate interests in opposition of Measure C. To us, this is a reason to support Measure C. 

Measure C would correct an outdated flat business tax rate (last updated in 1991) for businesses operating in the city and raising taxable revenue thresholds (from $10k to $100k) to be more inclusive of protecting small businesses and incorporating built in cost-of-living adjustments. This measure would increase the amount of money raised "for general governmental use" by the City of Sacramento. 

TLDR: The business tax system in the City of Sacramento is deeply outdated and this feels like a reasonable if not perfect attempt to refresh it

• Candidate Summary: A lifelong Folsom resident with experience working as staff in the California State Senate. Hla is active in the local Muslim community and has supported projects of the Council on Islamic Relations (CAIR) CA's local chapter in Sacramento. We don't know much about her platform but Hla has been vocal in calling for a ceasefire. 

State Assembly District 6  - Sean Frame | seanframe.com

• Current Role: 

• Candidate Summary: 

• Key endorsements to consider: 

  • Organizations: Sierra Club, Sacramento Environmental Democrats, Wellstone Progressive Democrats of Sacramento, CA Progressive Alliance, Our Revolution, Sacramento Sister Circle, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE, dual endorsing both Sean and opponent Evan Minton) 

  • Elected Officials: Dave Jones (Former CA Insurance Commissioner) 

State Assembly District 6  - Paula Villescaz | paulavillescaz.com

• Current Role: 

• Candidate Summary: 

• Key endorsements to consider: 

  • Organizations: 

Elected Officials: Sacramento City Councilmember Katie Valenzuela 

State Assembly District 7  - Porsche Middleton  | porsche4assembly.com

• Candidate Summary: 

• Key endorsements to consider: 

  • Organizations: Planned Parenthood Advocates Mar Monte, California Faculty Association, SEIU California

  • Elected Officials: Assemblymember Chris Holden

This is a false solution that reduces funding for existing mental health treatment, in line with many similar moves and reactionary trends locally and nationally to criminalize homelessness, create mental health jails, etc. This is not necessarily our area of expertise so we are deferring to the summaries by opposing organizations linked below.

Proposition 1 is supported by Governor Newsom’s Ballot Measure Committee and Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper

Proposition 1 is opposed by Project Lets, Disability Rights CA, Mental Health America of CA, We Are Revolutionaries, and other mutual aid, harm reduction, and disability rights focused groups.

After a more than decade-long campaign, environmental justice communities won a policy that would establish health and safety buffer distance between sites of fossil fuel production and sensitive sites where people live (learn, play, work, etc) through SB 1137. The deeply invested interests of fossil capital are spending tens of millions of dollars to try to repeal this law through this sham of a referendum process. 

Process:

• A vote to "keep the law" is to uphold Senate Bill 1137 (SB 1137), which would prohibit new oil and gas wells within 3,200 feet of homes, schools, nursing homes, and hospitals and require companies to adopt health, safety, and environmental requirements.

• A vote to "overturn the law" is to repeal Senate Bill 1137 (SB 1137), thus keeping the law from taking effect.

TLDR: Say yes to keep SB 1137, say no to big oil profits and their attempted referendum

• Pushing to “keep the law”:

  • Organizations: Central California Environmental Justice Network, Earthjustice, Sierra Club California, Voices in Solidarity Against Oil in Neighborhoods (VISION), Sunrise Movement CA, 350 Sacramento 

  • Elected Officials/People of Note: Governor Gavin Newsom

• Pushing to “overturn the law”:

  • Organizations: California Independent Petroleum Association (CIPA), E & B Natural Resources Management Corp., Macpherson Oil Company LLC, Sentinel Peak Resources California LLC, Signal Hill Petroleum, Inc., State Building and Construction Trades Council of California

• Current Role: Congresswoman in the House of Representatives

Candidate Summary: She has been a consistent beacon standing against war. The only candidate in the race calling for a ceasefire in Palestine. In 2001 she was the only member of Congress to vote against President Bush’s war in Iraq. In 2004 she introduced a resolution in Congress to declare genocide was occurring in Darfur, Sudan. She has taken bold stances opposing status-quo US policies of military interventionism, the war on terror, and sanctions as collective punishment as these policies relate to Iraq, Sudan, Afghanistan, Libya, Haiti, Cuba, Palestine and Israel.  

Ami Bera is an establishment politician and neoliberal democrat who refuses to call for a ceasefire, Medicare For All, or a Green New Deal.

Alternatives to consider: 

Adam Barajas | adambarajasforcongress.com  

• We don't know much about Adam but his platform seems promising as an alternative to Ami Bera 

Chris Richardson | rcr4congress.us

• Green Party candidate

President - “Uncommitted” | Rashida Tlaib’s write-in call to action

Congressmember Rashida Tlaib is calling on her community to write in “uncommitted” to send a clear message to the Democratic Party and President Biden.

President - Claudia De la Cruz | https://votesocialist2024.com/  

• Key endorsements to consider: 

  • Organizations: Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL)

President - Dr. Cornel West | https://www.cornelwest2024.com/ 

• Candidate Summary: Has long stood for civil rights and liberation struggles and against apartheid and militarism.

President - “Ceasefire” | Write-in 

People across the country are organically protesting against President Biden by writing in “ceasefire”

Flood control districts oversee dual goals of protecting rivers and their surrounding ecosystems and implementing plans and preparedness activities to increase our community’s resilience to flooding. This role is crucial in Sacramento, which is more vulnerable to catastrophic flooding than any other major city in the United States except New Orleans. Located at the confluence of the American and Sacramento Rivers, the city has a long history of damaging floods, and climate change is projected to make flooding in our region much worse. 

Sacramento continues to rank low in flood preparedness and levee maintenance, putting thousands of residents at risk. Additionally, a recent drought, exacerbated by climate change, negatively affected water reliability in the Sacramento region and left lasting impacts on our rivers. Further, as more people are forced into houselessness in Sacramento, more individuals seek shelter on the banks and levees of the American and Sacramento Rivers. The candidates elected in these roles and the policies they enact will have lasting effects on how prepared our communities are in the face of climate change, how we support our unsheltered population, and how we address our houselessness crisis.

Resource Conservation Districts (or RCDs) partner with local communities on a voluntary basis to care for land, water, soil, and other natural resources. RCD boards of directors conduct research relating to the conservation of resources and share that research with their district members. They can charge fees for services they provide, make improvements on public lands to conserve resources, and provide technical assistance to district residents to help minimize soil and other resource degradation. 

Fire Protection Districts provide fire protection and ambulance and rescue services. The Sacramento districts’ elections listed are managed by Sacramento County - note that some districts do overlap with surrounding counties. Elections are held on even years, and terms of office are four-year staggered terms. Some Fire Protection Districts elect their board members at-large (meaning if four positions are available then the top four candidates from that district become board members). Others divide their districts further into divisions and elect one board member per division. 

Recreation and Park Districts provide recreation programs, local parks, and open spaces. There are 21 districts in Sacramento County; each district is governed by a five-member board with members serving four-year terms. The board is responsible for establishing policies for the operation of the district.

Parks, open spaces, and trails are key to preserving our water and air quality, reducing congestion, and protecting wildlife. Board members’ decisions can either increase or decrease access and opportunities for underrepresented and underserved communities to participate in city programs and services that will impact their physical and mental health. Social equity must be a focus of recreation and park district board members so that public parks and recreation programs are provided on an equitable basis to all community members served by the district. 

Water Districts are publicly owned water utilities. They set prices and supply water to their geographic district. The water utilities are governed by five-member boards elected to four-year terms. The boards are the highest authority and approve key decisions like the budget, infrastructure for safe drinking water, and prices for water and sewage bills. 

Water is a human right, and as we know from poisonings like the Flint water crisis, how cities manage their water can have devastating impacts on people. Also, it is good to keep tabs on sustainable water use during California’s droughts. These boards are overwhelmingly older, white, and college-educated, so it would be good for a younger and more diverse group of folks to have a say in how water is supplied and how much it costs.

Community College Districts are governed by a Board of Trustees, similar to other School Districts. The boards are responsible for the educational, physical, and financial decisions of the district, in addition to setting legal policy for the district. The boards also conduct studies and surveys around the district’s progress on equity, justice and inclusion.

Trustees also advocate for financial aid at the federal level, which can significantly impact student outcomes. Being an effective advocate means educating policymakers about the needs of their communities and showing them how community colleges affect lives and economies for the better. Since trustees control the budget for their districts, it’s critical that we elect board members whose values align with our own.