Sacramento police officer union, district attorney make endorsements for mayor
The Sacramento police officer union on Tuesday endorsed Steve Hansen for mayor.
The Sacramento Police Officers Association endorsement, which typically comes with a $6,000 campaign donation, further cements Hansen’s desire to brand himself as the public safety candidate.
“Public safety has to be number one,” said Hansen, a former Sacramento City Council member. “I want to ensure adequate resources to recruit and retain officers ... there’s a question of whether the council supports the people on the front lines.”
Councilmembers Katie Valenzuela, Mai Vang and Caity Maple have all pledged not to accept police union donations. None of them were on the council when Hansen was.
Hansen said he wants the council to increase the police budget. Despite hitting an all-time-high $228 million this year, the department still has fewer officers than it did before the Great Recession. To compensate, the city is overworking officers with mandatory overtime, so many are leaving for suburban departments or retiring, Hansen said.
“I think we need more officers,” Hansen said. “But also more park rangers, and more (police community service officers) ... I want to send a very strong message to people that the city will protect them, will keep them safe.”
For police accountability, Hansen said he would want the policies the council put in place when he was on it to remain, including the department commitment to publicly release videos of all officer use of force within 30 days.
“If there’s an officer who does something wrong, we have to make sure there’s appropriate consequences,” Hansen said. “The trust of the community is important.”
Hansen announced the endorsement Tuesday standing in front of the Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library, flanked by officers and holding blue and white signs that stated, “Police for Steve Hansen.”
Also on Tuesday, another significant figure in law enforcement, Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho, endorsed Richard Pan, who’s also running for mayor.
Pan, a former Democratic state senator and a pediatrician, endorsed Ho for district attorney last year, while Hansen endorsed the more liberal Alana Mathews.
Ho last week sent a letter to Valenzuela asking the city to clear homeless camps near the downtown courthouse.
In addition to Hansen and Pan, Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento; and Flojaune Cofer, an epidemiologist and social justice activist, are also running for mayor following Mayor Darrell Steinberg’s announcement he will not seek re-election. Cofer, who has protested police brutality in the past, has said she will not accept police union campaign donations.
The primary election 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.
