Let's talk about the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors race for District 3. Gregg Fishman, a progressive, and conservative Rich Desmond are going head-to-head for the open District 3 seat. That district covers the Arden Arcade, Fair Oaks, and Citrus Heights area of town.
The County Board of Supervisors typically gets a lot of attention from SJPC because of how important the decisions they make are for our communities: health care, homelessness and mental health care funding, and public safety in Sacramento County are all critical decision points when we're looking at social justice issues. And this race presents an opportunity to flip a seat from conservative to progressive. The current make-up of the Board includes two progressives, two conservatives and one member that can swing depending on the issue. The retiring member from District 3 is one of the conservative Republicans on the Board.
Desmond, a former California Highway Patrol chief, is endorsed by Sheriff Scott Jones and District Attorney Ann Marie Schubert and has significantly out-raised Fishman with lots of support from law enforcement groups. Fishman is endorsed by a long list of progressive organizations including SEIU, the Latinx Young Dems of Sacramento, Planned Parenthood, and Stonewall Democrats of Sacramento County. Both candidates name the COVID-19 response, homelessness and economic development as top priorities. But Fishman also has a platform on social equity with specific pledges to promote women and people of color on boards, commissions, and in elective office. And while many of us can agree on what the critical issues for Sacramento are, the question is, through what lens will these candidates be making decisions?
Given everything at stake in Sacramento, having a progressive majority on the Board of Supervisors can make a huge difference especially as we continue to face the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic recession.
Consider the issues we've written about in SJPC alone - the use of CARES Act funding, campaign finance contribution limits, the County Budget, public safety (let's not forget that County Sheriff Scott Jones is one of the most regressive elected members in Sacramento) - we need leadership willing to view these issues from a perspective of equity and social justice. Do your research and then...VOTE!
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