By Robert J. Hansen | OBSERVER Staff Writer
The six candidates vying to be Sacramento’s next mayor fielded questions about homelessness, gun violence and police accountability Jan. 30 at a candidate forum held at the Greater Sacramento Urban League in Del Paso Heights.
The League of Women Voters of Sacramento County and the Sacramento chapter of the Black American Political Association of California welcomed Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, former state Sen. Richard Pan, epidemiologist Flojuan Cofer, former Councilmember Steve Hansen, Marine Corps Reserve Captain Jose Avina and asset protection officer Julius Engel.
Grant Union High School student body president Leah Nelson began the forum discussing gun violence in schools. A 17-year-old classmate had been shot by a 14-year-old student earlier that day.
She said gun violence in schools is a problem throughout the country, not just at Grant High or in Sacramento.
“I feel pain for my school and my community that all of our students knew what to do because it’s normal,” Nelson said. “I knew exactly what to do because it happens so frequently.”
The candidates shared what strategies and policies they support in reducing gun violence. Recently, 10-year-old Keith “KJ” Frierson was shot and killed by another 10-year-old who had retrieved a stolen gun from his father’s car.
Avina said increasing community service officers could help reduce violent crime.
“It’s all hands on deck,” Avina said. “We need every individual to be equally involved to try and find a solution.”
Cofer said the most successful examples of reducing gun violence in Sacramento happened from 2017 through 2020, years when no minors were killed by gun violence.
“That was because we had violence prevention and intervention programs who were funded to do that work,” Cofer said.
She said after the city stopped funding these programs, youth deaths from gun violence increased. Cofer said she would bring back those organizations and consistently fund them.
“Our very lives depend on it,” Cofer said.
Engel said expanding police presence most effectively reduces gun violence.
“The only way to do it is with more presence because they’re there to stop it,” Engel said.
Hansen said he believes gun buyback programs and a fully staffed police department can be effective, but that peer-to-peer community organizations are the most effective.
“We need to get back to those things that worked,” he said.
McCarty said that as he has done in the Assembly, he will continue to lead on gun violence intervention.
A bill authored by McCarty and passed last year, AB 1406, permits the California Department of Justice to notify a firearm dealer to delay the sale of a firearm to a buyer for up to 30 days when an extraordinary event has prevented the department from obtaining or reviewing background checks during the typical 10-day waiting period.
He suggested a court-mandated course on gun violence for any young person arrested for a firearm infraction. “We’re going to try that right here in Sacramento, “McCarty said. “We are going to be first in line to fund these programs.”
Pan said that he would take a public health approach to reducing gun violence, citing gun violence as the nation’s leading cause of child deaths. “I agree that what we really need to do … is to support more violence prevention programs,” Pan said. “We need to have strong relationships with our youth that show them another path so that they don’t turn to violence.”
On addressing homelessness – what many see as the top issue facing the city – the candidates told the audience what they think is working and what they would do differently.
Cofer sees nonprofits and community leaders collaborating to effect positive change. A failing, she said, is the city “shuffling people street to street without offering them a place to go.”
Engel said there have been improvements since Jim Cooper became sheriff.
“They are making great inroads on this problem,” Engel said.
Hansen said solving the homeless problem requires compassion but also a firm hand. He said a failing was how long it took for the city to deploy tiny homes.
“They [the homes] sat in a corporation yard for four years while people were on our streets,” Hansen said.
Hansen is a proponent of Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment Court, or CARE Court, as a way to help those unable to care for themselves.
“We need to intervene in people’s lives affirmatively because some people don’t know how to take help,” Hansen said.
McCarty said not much is being done well to address homelessness and that safe ground campsites are needed throughout the city.
“It’s a lack of a sense of urgency,” McCarty said. “It’s not always about money.”
Pan said homelessness is not a new problem, but one that has been “kicked down the road” over and over by local and state leaders.
“Leaders have been telling us they are going to do something but when you look at our streets, we don’t see that anything is getting done,” Pan said.
He said the city needs new leaders who will prioritize, focus and follow through. “We need less talk on what we are going to do and more action,” Pan said.
The candidates gave their opinion on Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho’s lawsuit against the city over homelessness.
McCarty does not support the suit, suggesting the need for a regional joint effort.
“We need to solve homelessness by working together, not by suing each other,” McCarty said.
Pan said the lawsuit was based on the opinions of more than 3,000 residents who feel the city has not followed its laws regarding homelessness.
“People are frustrated. While we can have different opinions on the lawsuit, it certainly got the attention of the city attorney and the mayor,” Pan said. “The DA has actually spurred some action with the tools he has.”
Avina said that although well intentioned, the suit wasn’t the right approach. Cofer said the district attorney’s action has not helped house anyone and that those who do not help are part of the problem.
“They [the lawsuits] have not been productive,” Cofer said. “It’s been a waste of our time … which is taxpayer dollars that could be better spent that could be spent on homelessness support or housing.”
Engle, who supports the lawsuit, said it was long overdue, saying it at least made the city take notice.
“From what I have seen, [it] is working,” Engel said.
Hansen, a former councilmember, said the lawsuit was a reflection of people’s feelings. “If you have people camping on your lawn, stealing from you, hurting you, you expect the city to do something,” he said. “People have to know that the city is going to help them.”
Another issue that the city could address is holding the police department accountable and build trust that it will serve all communities equitably.
Cofer supports the Sacramento Community Police Review Commission and is disappointed with what she sees as the police department not being a good partner with the commission.
She also said that the Office of Public Safety Accountability has outlined ways to improve its relationship with the community and that the police department has pushed back on those suggestions.
“What I want to see us do is when problems are pointed out … for the police department to say ‘Yes, we have a problem and here’s what we’re going to do about it,’” Cofer said.
Engel said having the right people in leadership positions and in oversight is the way towards repairing trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.
“It’s all about the citizens and we need to get them more involved again,” Engel said.
Hansen advocated for aggressive recruitment from those communities.
“I think that law enforcement has to look like the communities that they serve … so that there is that trust,” Hansen said.
McCarty said his career in the state Legislature has been dedicated to police reform and that would be no different if elected mayor.
“When an officer does cross the line there needs to be accountability,” McCarty said.
He said releasing public records and following transparency laws also are keys to repairing trust between the community and law enforcement.
Pan said that police need time to build relationships through community policing and getting to know the neighborhoods they patrol.
“It’s going to be really important that we change the culture of the police department,” Pan said.
Avina said police need to be better trained against overreacting in ways that harm the community.
“They need to take it [training] up a notch,” Avina said.