Kevin McCarty, a former Sacramento councilman now in state Assembly, launches mayor bid

Michael McGough
·2 min read
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Assemblyman Kevin McCarty has thrown his hat into the ring in Sacramento’s 2024 mayoral race, launching his candidacy Thursday morning shortly after Mayor Darrell Steinberg announced his decision not to seek a third term.

“I’m a homegrown Sacramentan ready to lean in to tackle our problems head-on,” McCarty said in a statement sent minutes after Steinberg’s announcement at City Hall.

McCarty, a 51-year-old Democrat, represented the 6th District on the Sacramento City Council from 2004 to 2014. That district, currently occupied by Vice Mayor Eric Guerra, covers southern and eastern parts of the city including the Tahoe Park and Sierra Oaks neighborhoods.

It’s the same district Steinberg represented during his first stint on the council, between 1992 and 1998, before Steinberg’s election to the Assembly.

McCarty was elected to California’s Assembly in 2014 and represented the Seventh District until redistricting following the 2020 Census. After the 2022 election, McCarty now represents the Sixth Assembly District, which includes most of the city of Sacramento as well as parts of the unincorporated county.

“We need real solutions to address homelessness and housing affordability, grow our economy, support our workers and families while improving neighborhood safety and livability,” McCarty’s statement continued. “I’ll bring my experience as a neighborhood leader, Housing and Redevelopment Commissioner, City Councilmember and State Assemblymember to build partnerships and deliver results for Sacramento.”

McCarty joins a field of mayor candidates and potential candidates to replace Steinberg that so far includes Flo Cofer, an epidemiologist and police reform activist; Maggy Krell, a special advisor to the California attorney general; and former council members Jeff Harris and Steve Hansen.

Cofer, Krell and McCarty have formally announced their intent to run for mayor.

Harris and Hansen have not made announcements as of Thursday morning but have filed paperwork to raise money.

None of the candidates will be official until the nomination period begins this November.

Sacramento City Councilman Jay Schenirer, Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, Mayor Darrell Steinberg and state Sen. Richard Pan view some of the two dozen state-issued trailers, provided to enable at-risk people to self-quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic, on April 3, 2020, at Cal Expo. The travel trailers are part of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $150 million funding plan to protect vulnerable populations, including people experiencing homelessness, and slow the spread of the coronavirus.