We have a crisis on our hands, and I’m committed to rapidly expanding transitional housing options. We’ll prioritize converting vacant and underutilized lots and buildings, and partnering with local organizations to provide immediate shelter while we work on long-term housing solutions. Our goal is to get people off the streets and into safe spaces as quickly as possible. 

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As a public health official I’ve been responsible for emergency response to natural disasters across the state. I know how to do this. We need immediate action and innovative solutions. By streamlining permits and cutting red tape, we can create temporary housing quickly by converting vacant properties. We’ll also offer comprehensive support services to help individuals transition into permanent housing, getting them the resources they need to succeed.

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Sacramento needs an effective strategy to address homelessness. We need an actionable plan with measurable and transparent goals that will enable us to implement immediate and long-term solutions. 

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Safe Rest Villages.

I will work with the community to identify vacant parcels where people can access basic services like electricity, water, and safe places to sleep. Other cities, like Portland, have had success with Safe Rest Villages – managed, temporary, outdoor communities using tiny homes or RVs. Safe Rest Villages or safegrounds can serve as an interim solution, allowing service providers to engage with individuals and connect them to needed services such as mental health care, addiction support, and housing. These sites can provide immediate relief while keeping costs manageable. We will review different vacant parcels through collaborative conversations with communities.  We need a chance to speak openly about everyone’s concerns and what the city can do to address these concerns. 

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Coordinated Mental Health and Substance Abuse Care.

We must stabilize the 200 chronically unhoused people involved in repeated 911 calls and trips to emergency departments. I will partner with service providers, emergency departments, the county jail, local businesses, the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, and the county to create a continuum of medical care, case management, and permanent supportive housing to stabilize these individuals, leveraging CalAIM funding from the state.

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House ALL Children In Our Community. 

We must help the 1500 kids and families with kids get stable housing. We cannot have kids in our community who don’t have a stable, safe place to sleep every night. I will work with our school districts to pass policy and allocate funding to house and serve the families of children experiencing homelessness, aiming to end childhood homelessness in Sacramento by 2028. Ending homelessness in children is key to breaking the cycle.

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Sacramento is facing a housing crisis, and we must act boldly to create more housing — at every price point.  At the same time, we need to ensure that people who are already housed can stay in their homes.   Once someone loses their home, the path to getting back into housing becomes steeper and steeper.  Here’s how we can address this: 

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Tenant Protections. 

It’s critical that we help people stay in their homes.  That starts with ensuring that both tenants and landlords know their  rights.  For those who can’t afford legal representation, we must ensure there is funding for legal assistance.  Nobody should be forced out of their home because they didn’t have the resources to fight an unjust eviction.

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Support  homeowners and first time home buyers.

We need to expand housing options across the board, but especially for first time home owners and young professionals  looking for entry-level housing.  We also need to protect homeowners from predatory lending practices that put them at risk of losing everything. Owning a home should be a pathway to stability, not a doorway to financial ruin.

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Build affordable housing

To truly solve Sacramento’s housing crisis, we need to build more affordable housing. One way to generate the needed revenue is reconsidering how we tax vacant parcels. Too often these  lots sit unused, becoming blights on neighborhoods, when they could be turned into homes. By taxing these properties, we can encourage development and ensure our city has the funds to build the housing we need. 

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Together, we can make sure Sacramento is a city where everyone has a place to call home.

None of us want to worry about our public safety. We should be able to walk through our streets and play in our parks safely. None of us wake up in the morning hoping to call 9-1-1. If we do, something went wrong.  We must first and foremost focus on keeping our communities safe – that means focusing on prevention as well as an appropriate response. 

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Prevent Violence. 

We all want to be free from the threat of violence and crime.

That means investing in violence prevention. Yet politicians cut proven, youth-focused programs that prevented homicides. While those programs were funded, Sacramento went two years with no youth homicides. Instead of doubling down on these programs, our politicians cut them. And we’ve seen violence rise. We must reinvest in programs to prevent violence and poverty.

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Reduce Traffic Accidents. 

Sacramento has had more traffic accidents than homicides. We already know that the majority of traffic accidents occur on a small proportion of our roadways. The city recently failed to gain $10 million in state matching funds from CalTrans that could have helped make our roadways safer because we failed to allocate the needed $1 million in city matching funds. We can do better. 

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Effective Response.

Currently, Police officers spend a third of their time responding to calls that are non-police calls. The police themselves – our own former Chief Han and the LAPD – have identified 28 call types that are more appropriate for other agencies to respond to. These calls could include code enforcement, mental health situations, homeless issues, problems at schools, parking violations, trash dumping, panhandling, and public intoxication. By diverting these calls to our Department of Community Response, we can reduce the burden on the police, and respond more effectively.

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As mayor, I’ll take a comprehensive approach to ensuring that our communities are safe and supportive for all of us. I will restore funding to successful violence prevention programs, invest in programs and services that promote community well-being – and ensure that we adequately fund the City’s Department of Community Response so that we can respond to the 9-1-1 calls and other needs that don’t need an armed police response.

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Ensure residents can access living wage jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities through intentional investment and creative partnerships.

- Cultivate a Sacramento Green Jobs Hub.

- Support Sacramento as a Living Wage community and strengthen efforts that address the impacts of Climate Change.

- Conduct an evaluation of the city’s long-term revenue streams for efficiency and sufficiency.

- Support the Sacramento City Public Bank, which is in active discussion now. This is one way for the city to develop the critical (and missing) funding necessary to build 45,580 affordable housing units.

- Allocate the cannabis tax revenue to community-based projects in areas most harmed during the racially-motivated war on drugs (page 14).

- Partner with local unions and (Sacramento Employment Training Agency) SETA to ensure access to job training programs.

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Sacramento’s economic future relies on our ability to provide living wage opportunities for all Sacramentans – and foster an environment that supports new and existing businesses. By creating a robust ecosystem for entrepreneurship, we can stimulate job creation and equitable and inclusive economic development. This includes expanding access to capital for small businesses, simplifying regulatory processes, partnering with our local universities and colleges, and investing in workforce development programs. Ensuring that Sacramento becomes a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship will help generate more economic opportunities and contribute to a more resilient economy.

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Streamline Regulations: 

Navigating local regulations can be daunting for entrepreneurs and business owners. I will simplify and streamline the approval process by cutting red tape and creating a one-stop-shop for permits and licenses. This will make it easier for businesses to start, expand, and thrive in our city.

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Strategic Local Investment: 

Securing funding is often a significant hurdle for growing businesses. We need city leadership that prioritizes local investment.  When I attend Kings games in the downtown arena, I am frequently struck by the opportunity that we missed to feature local breweries instead of national chains. We need to capitalize on these opportunities to reinvest our dollars locally. Additionally, I will support initiatives that connect entrepreneurs with local financial institutions and investors to provide targeted funding programs and grants. 

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Workforce Development: 

A skilled workforce is crucial for business growth. I have been in conversation with Sac State and UC Davis about locating campus satellites and dorms in the downtown area. This will provide students with access to the capitol to support their professional development, as well as supporting the economic revitalization of the downtown area. I am committed to working with our business partners and educational institutions and vocational training programs to ensure that we are nurturing the talent and potential of our community and creating a well-prepared and vibrant  workforce.

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The climate crisis presents a critical challenge – and an unprecedented opportunity for Sacramento to build a sustainable future. By transitioning to 100 percent renewable energy, we can create thousands of green jobs and invest in our infrastructure, economy, and community.

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As mayor, I will work with residents across the city to support and implement the Climate Action Plan and achieve zero emissions by 2030. Here’s how we will do it:

• Urban Tree Plan: Fully implement our urban tree plan to plant, protect, and maintain trees to enhance our urban canopy and improve air quality.
• Home and Business Resilience: Collaborate with SMUD and the air district to make homes and businesses more resilient through weatherization, water and energy efficiency improvements, and electrification.
• Electric Vehicle Infrastructure: Work with SMUD and the air district to implement a comprehensive electric vehicle charging network, supporting the transition to clean transportation.
• Production AND Storage Infrastructure: Work with SMUD and strategic partners to ensure a robust Solar and renewables platform for the city in conjunction with supporting the implementation of state-of-the-art energy storage and smart grid technologies and setting a course for Sacramento to be a leader in resilient green energy infrastructure.
• Green Jobs Incubator: Partner with local unions, employers, and workforce development groups to create a Green Jobs Incubator, ensuring our residents are ready to seize new job opportunities in the green economy.
• Safe Streets Initiative: Explore a funding measure to make all our streets safe for pedestrians and cyclists, enhancing overall traffic safety and encouraging sustainable transportation.
• Expanded Free Transit: Collaborate with Sacramento Regional Transit to expand free transit beyond the current K-12 program, making public transportation accessible to more residents.
• Standing Climate Committee: Transform the mayor’s Climate Change Committee into a standing city committee, ensuring ongoing focus and accountability on climate issues.

By embracing these initiatives, we can turn the climate crisis into an opportunity for growth and leadership. Together, we will build a sustainable Sacramento that sets the standard for cities nationwide. Join us in this transformative journey toward a greener, more resilient future.

City Governance: Transparent, Inclusive, Efficient.

The people of Sacramento are a tremendous resource – but our city hasn’t figured out how to best leverage all of our community expertise.  We need a City Hall that prioritizes outreach & engagement with our communities to allow them to help shape policy. We need to have an inclusive process to establish shared priorities.  To that end, I will:

• Establish 2-year Goals:: Host a City Council retreat to establish two-year city priorities after each election, ensuring alignment and focus on key goals.
• Participatory Budgeting: Conduct a participatory budgeting process to gather public input, ensuring that community voices shape our city’s future.
• Inclusive Decision-Making: Establish a process for city decisions that allows for meaningful community input by:some text
  • Publicizing policy proposals on the city website by category.
  • Soliciting input from relevant City Boards, Committees, and Commissions.
  • Inviting community organizations and neighborhood associations to formally sponsor, support, or oppose policy proposals.
  • Allocating equal time for presentations in support and opposition of proposals.
• Language Access Policy: Implement a comprehensive language access policy to ensure city meetings and materials are accessible to all residents. Address the gaps identified in the 2022 City Auditor’s Language Access Gap Analysis by determining what materials need translation, the required resources, and the languages needed for translation.
• Monthly Town Halls and Rotating Office Hours: Host monthly community town hall listening sessions and maintain rotating office hours in each district to consistently communicate with and hear from residents and neighbors.
• Enhanced Communication Channels: Establish robust online, email, text, and media channels to keep Sacramentans informed about city events, programs, and services.

Policy on Socially Responsible Investments

‍Our city’s investments should be aligned with the values of our community, promoting peace, protecting human rights, and investing in the well-being of all people. We believe in supporting efforts that prevent violence and create conditions for everyone to live long, healthy, and dignified lives.

In these challenging times, we have heard from many in our community, including faith leaders and neighbors who have experienced the pain of losing loved ones in conflicts around the world, including the ongoing violence in Gaza. The loss of innocent lives, no matter where it occurs, is a tragedy that affects us all.

As a city, we have a moral responsibility to ensure that our investments reflect the values of equity, justice, and peace. This policy draws inspiration from local leadership and global movements for ethical governance. We will pursue socially responsible investment strategies, which include divesting from companies and funds that profit from activities harmful to people and the planet, such as arms dealing, genocide, fossil fuels, and tobacco.

Together, we can build a more just and peaceful world by ensuring that our financial resources do not contribute to the cycles of violence and harm, but instead are used to uplift communities and foster sustainable development.

By implementing these strategies, we will create a more transparent and fair city government that actively engages with and responds to the needs of all Sacramento residents. Join us in building a city that truly represents and serves its people.