Your Name: Katie Valenzuela
Your Email Address: info@katie4council.com
Your Primary Contact Number: 916-382-2116
Your Mailing Address: 1017 L Street #167, Sacramento, CA 95814
Current Occupation: City Councilmember
Political Party: Democrat
Why do you feel the need to run again?
I ran to make change. I made clear commitments and worked hard to keep them. We consulted with – and amplified the asks of – business, union and community leaders. And, despite a worldwide pandemic, we have made a measurable difference.
While we have accomplished a lot, there is clearly still have a lot of work to do. I want to keep working on solutions that will keep people housed, build more access to opportunities, and prepare us (every Sacramento resident) for the future. I believe we are making real change, and I want to keep doing this critical work – together.
Name one of your accomplishments from this term that you are proud of?
I’m really proud of starting the first safe camping areas in the city. The Council was only not doing it – they were opposed to it until I took office. We worked hard with community advocates to start the first sites and show the city it could work, and now it’s something so many folks are talking about as an immediate relief option.
But my second accomplishment is how we stepped up to help protect access to reproductive healthcare facilities after Roe was overturned. We worked with Planned Parenthood to craft an ordinance to protect clients seeking services from harassment. the ordinance worked like it was intended, and is now a model that other cities across the state are following!
Name one issue that you did not get accomplished that if elected you would prioritize?
We still have a lot of work to do to improve accountability within law enforcement. While I’m proud to have worked with the Mayor to pass the strongest use of force standard in the state of California, we still have dozens of Sacramento Community Police Review Commission recommendations that have never been deliberated by the City Council, a Truth and Reconciliation Process that has yet to begin, and consistent findings – from our Office of Public Safety and Accountability as well as outside agencies and academics – that show that the Sacramento Police Department is still disproportionately taking action against Black and Brown communities.
I am currently working with Mayor Steinberg, Councilmember Jennings, and Councilmember Guerra on a joint meeting with the Sacramento Community Police Review Commission to consider and recommend reforms to that process to ensure the community has trust in that oversight mechanism. I am about to introduce legislation to implement some of OPSA’s recommendations from the search and seizure audit, and am in conversation with the Mayor about starting the Truth and Reconciliation Process that we decided to fund in 2022.
What plans do you have for creating homeless shelters in your district?
I’m very proud to have had the first and only city-run safe camping and parking areas in my district, and welcome any new opportunities to expand our shelter and service capacity. Since much of that work now lies in our County through our partnership agreement, my primary focus is on increasing access to affordable housing so we can keep people from ending up on the street – and hopefully get more folks off the street and out of shelters.
I’m doing that by introducing a policy package called Sacramento Forward, which includes bringing back inclusionary zoning, strengthening tenant protections, and implementing an “opportunity to purchase” act that allows tenants the first right of refusal when their homes are listed for sale. I am also pushing for a funding mechanism that would allow us to help with emergency assistance, acquisition of properties when they’re listed for sale (a far cheaper and faster option than building new), and to help with gap financing for affordable housing projects. One way to do that is through a vacancy tax, which I’m championing at the Law and Legislation Committee, which would assess modest annual taxes on owners of vacant lots and buildings to go into a fund; staff estimates that could generate at least $22m a year!
Why should African American vote for you?
My entire career since graduate school has been focused on pursuing racial justice, and that work continues to this day in my job at the Central Valley Air Quality Coalition – a nonprofit environmental justice organization. I have carried that experience to City Hall in my work to protect BIPOC workers, correct historical discriminatory policies, and to invest in the needs and recognize the work of so many overlooked people in my District. I have been fearless in using my platform to advocate for divestment from law enforcement, a ceasefire in Gaza, an end to a discriminatory ban on cruising, and many other issues where racial discrimination – of the legacy of redlining and racial segregation – continue to play out. And I will keep doing this work until there is no breath left in me.