Voter Guide

2024 Primary Election Voter Guide 

All candidates listed below are recommendations, with exception for our 2 currently endorsed candidates: Dr. Flojaune Cofer and Katie Valenzuela who we are excited about and actively campaigning for!


This guide: 

Check out other voter guides that covered additional races! We listed a few here, but this list is not comprehensive, nor do we necessarily agree with all the endorsements and recommendations in these guides. 

Contents:

The following table of contents includes links to the sections below. Each race / decision has a header with a recommended decision, and a dropdown for more context or explanation.

Sacramento County Races

Sacramento County Board of Supervisors 

The Board of Supervisors is the governing body of Sacramento County. The Board adopts local policy, appoints officials, creates programs, and controls the County budget. Members of the Board also represent the County on intergovernmental agencies, like Water Districts. 

The Board has five members elected to serve four-year terms. In 2024, two members will be elected to the Board for Districts 3 and 4. Rich Desmond, who is currently in his first term representing District 3 on the Board of Supervisors since 2021, is running for re-election unopposed. Sue Frost, who has been representing District 4 on the Board of Supervisors since 2017, is not running for re-election and leaving an open, contested seat.

As the highest authority in the County, the Board of Supervisors is a key race for many progressive issues. The Board funds the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department, distributes state funds for housing, and manages our public health department. This race is particularly important for Sacramento residents who live outside of city limits, as it is their primary form of local government.

District 3 - No confidence, write in #NoNewJail

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. 

District 4 - Braden Murphy | bradenforsac.com


Sacramento County Superior Court 

In California, superior court judges oversee trials for all criminal and civil cases.

Office 21 - Noel Andrew Calvillo | calvilloforjudge.com 


Options


Noel Andrew Calvillo | calvilloforjudge.com


Amy Holliday | hollidayforjudge.com 


Bobby P Luna | lunaforjudge.com 

Sacramento County Democratic Party Central Committee 

If you are a registered Democrat in Sacramento County, you have an opportunity to vote for the following progressive candidates to have power in shaping the local Democratic Party. This “slate” is a group of candidates who are all running together. We are just deferring to their self-identification and don’t closely follow the internal workings of the Democratic Party. In districts where the "progressive power slate" did not recommend 6 candidates, if there are candidates we were familiar enough to recommend we added them in magenta text.

Central Committee - Progressive Power Slate

District 1

District 2

District 3

District 4

District 5

City Races

Sacramento City Mayor and Council 

Sacramento City Council is a nine-member mayor-council system of government, composed of a mayor and eight councilmembers (one per district). Each council member is elected by their respective district to serve four-year terms. In addition to the mayor, four council district representatives will be elected to Sacramento City Council this election representing Districts 2, 4, 6, and 8. 

☀️ Mayor - Dr. Flojaune Cofer | floformayor.com

District 2 - Roger Dickinson | rogerdickinson.com


The district 2 election comes at a time when this district is currently missing a councilmember due to the resignation / ousting of Sean Loloee who had been holding the seat. We are cautiously optimistic about Roger's platform relative to the other candidates in this race.

☀️ District 4 - Katie Valenzuela | katie4council.com

District 6 - No confidence, write in #StopTheSweeps

We recommend voting against incumbent Eric Guerra, a man who we recently had to meet with to temporarily convince not to advance a policy to “ban daytime camping” and criminalize homelessness across the City of Sacramento. 


No viable alternative to consider

District 8 - Mai Vang | maivang.org

Sacramento City Ballot measures 

Measure C - Yes

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

Folsom City Council 

The Folsom City Council has five members, elected at-large (i.e., not to a specific district) by the voters of the City. The terms of council members are four years and remain staggered, with three council members being elected at one election and two council members being elected in the next. The City Council selects a mayor and a vice mayor amongst themselves. Districts 2 and 4 are up for election in 2024. 

District 2 - Hla Elkhatib | hlaelkhatib.com 

District 4 - No confidence

Consider: Gul Khan | khan4folsom.com

The greater Sacramento Muslim Public Affairs Committee recommends Gul Khan on their "Vote Ceasefire Candidates" guide. We cannot recommend a candidate whose platform openly calls for increasing the budget of police departments.

State of CA races

California State Assembly  

The eighty members of the California State Assembly are elected to two-year terms. Those representing odd-numbered districts run for office during presidential election years, while those in even-numbered districts run for election in gubernatorial election years. Senators are limited to three terms. The primary role of the State Legislature, which includes members of the State Assembly and State Senate, is to write the laws of the state. The Legislature also drafts the state’s plan for public spending.

District 6 - Multiple worthwhile options

State Assembly District 6  - Sean Frame | seanframe.com


State Assembly District 6  - Paula Villescaz | paulavillescaz.com

Elected Officials: Sacramento City Councilmember Katie Valenzuela 

District 7 - Porsche Middleton | porsche4assembly.com 

State Assembly District 7  - Porsche Middleton  | porsche4assembly.com

Statewide propositions and referendums  

Proposition 1 - No

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.

☀️ California Oil and Gas Well Regulations Referendum (2024) - “Keep the law”

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:


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


United States Federal Government Races

United States Senate  

The one hundred members of the United States Senate are elected to six-year terms. Congress, which is made up of the United States Senate and House of Representatives, makes up the legislative branch of government, is responsible for writing laws, and has various powers that can be used to shape the country or - in theory - hold the other branches of federal government accountable. Each state has only two Senators. 


In the 2024 election, California has an election to both fill the seat left open by Diane Feinstein’s death (currently held in interim by Governor Newsom’s appointee Laphonza Butler), and to select the next Senator: TLDR, you have to vote twice, once for each of these elections. 

Senate - Barbara Lee | barbaraleeforca.com 

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.  

United States House of Representatives 

Members of the House of Representatives are elected to two-year terms, considered for re-election every even year. Congress, which is made up of the United States Senate and House of Representatives, makes up the legislative branch of government, is responsible for writing laws, and has various powers that can be used to shape the country or - in theory - hold the other branches of federal government accountable. Each state has a number of Representatives dependent upon the population size of the state. In California, you only vote on the Representative for the Congressional House District you live in. 

Representative, CA District 6 - Vote against Ami Bera

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  


Chris Richardson | rcr4congress.us

Representative, CA District 7 - David Mandel | mandel4congress.org   

United States President 

President - "Uncommitted"

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/  


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


President - “Ceasefire” | Write-in 

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

General information about races We did not have time to cover

Flood Control Districts 

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 

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 

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 

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 / Irrigation Districts 

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 

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.