in march of this year, maybe on the coattails of california democratic presidential primary winner bernie sanders, environmental justice advocate katie valenzuela defeated my incumbent sacramento city councilmember steven hansen in an unexpected upset. yesterday in the sacramento bee, two articles highlight the difference city councilmember-elect valenzuela is making even before she takes office. See sacramento councilwoman-elect urges city to ‘defund’ $10 million from police budget and sacramento activists open ‘safe ground’ for homeless campers. will city shut it down?
in both of these areas of housing and police funding valenzuela is defying the conventional wisdom of the city leaders, particularly mayor darrell steinberg and hansen, whom she defeated in march. both steinberg and hansen while speaking strongly to social justice values have more often sided with “not in my backyard” voters over keeping people without housing safe and with police unions over those standing up for police victims.
valenzuela’s election and subsequent bold moves show that the times demand actions not just words. for decades, democratic politicians have campaigned with populist social justice rhetoric and governed like centrists. we live in a time when a man called “bubba” is severing lucrative business relationships in support of a nascar ban on confederate flag images. jimmie johnson, bubba wallace end relationship with nascar helmet designer following confederate flag tweets
despite the times and the progressive trends, the democratic party appears poised to nominate former vice president joe biden for president. it remains to be seen whether a centrist such as biden can attract the energy and enthusiasm bernie sanders brought to california in march which swept in fresh voices like katie valenzuela.
we need a lot more katie valenzuelas to be elected next november to be able to usher in a new era of government of, for and by the people.
