Former state Senator Richard Pan, a pediatrician, running for mayor of Sacramento

Former Democratic state Sen. Richard Pan is running for mayor of Sacramento.

Pan announced his candidacy Sunday on the Ronin Project Podcast.

“We’re honored to have Jimmie Yee as our first Asian American mayor, but he was an interim mayor, not directly elected as mayor, so I am seeking to be the first Asian American mayor of the city of Sacramento,” Pan, the son of Taiwanese immigrants, said on the podcast.

Pan, a pediatrician, represented Sacramento in the state Legislature for 12 years before terming out at the end of 2022. Pan through a spokesman declined an interview for this story because he is out of town. On the podcast he touted his work to help 65,000 children get healthcare coverage, help keep clinics open and expand them, and create jobs.

“Things like that, I think, are important,” Pan said.

Pan is perhaps most known for drawing ire from anti-vaxxers from across the state due to his work on vaccine mandates. He led laws to eliminate personal belief exemptions to vaccinations for children attending schools, to close a loophole in the vaccine mandate in 2019, and to keep protesters from blocking vaccine sites.

Anti-vaxxers and right-wing militia groups targeted Pan for the work. They installed a large banner outside the capitol with a drawing of Pan’s face, and the word LIAR over it. One anti-vaccine activist shoved Pan so hard he stumbled on a Sacramento sidewalk in 2019.

Prior to his time in the Legislature, Pan was a pediatrician and UC Davis professor. He still practices as a volunteer physician at the Sacramento County Health Center, caring for children on Medi-Cal or who are uninsured.

“I mainly took care of kids who were from under-resourced communities and low-income families and brought that perspective back to policy making in the legislature,” Pan said.

Since leaving the Legislature, Pan has been working as the senior policy advisor for AAPI Data.

“When there isn’t data about our community we don’t have data to back up our advocacy,” Pan said.

Pan joins a crowded field of candidates running for mayor, all of whom are Democrats. They include state Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento; former councilman Steve Hansen; epidemiologist and social justice activist Flojaune Cofer; and prosecutor Maggy Krell.

Mayor Darrell Steinberg earlier this month announced he will not seek a third term as mayor, meaning his term will end in December 2024. Steinberg, a former state lawmaker, has not yet announced his endorsement in the race.

The primary will be held March 5. If no one gets at least 50.01% of the vote, the top two candidates will advance to a general election in November.