4 minute read
Inside The County
Too Little, Too Late
KENNEDY’S PROTEST HAS CYNICAL FEEL
The Board of Supervisors recently redrew its district boundaries to refl ect Sacramento County’s population changes over the last decade. New lines are in effect for this year’s elections, with three seats open. Filing begins Feb. 14 for the June primary.
Boundaries for Districts 1 and 2, represented by Phil Serna and Patrick Kennedy, had minor modifi cations. Half of Rancho Cordova was moved from Don Nottoli’s District 5 into Rich Desmond’s District 3. North Highlands was swapped out of District 3 and given to Sue Frost in District 4. Desmond picks up Gold River.
Serna and Kennedy are up for reelection this year, with Nottoli retiring. Most of the attention will be on the race for his replacement in the southern portions of Sacramento County.
The redistricting process saw public pressure to form a new district that grouped together Elk Grove, South Sacramento, Florin and Vineyard. Such new lines would have created opportunities favorable to Asian American Pacifi c Islander candidates.
But a combined South Sac-Elk Grove district would have required major realignments of turf held by Serna and Kennedy—and they weren’t interested in drastic alternations during an election year.
Another issue involved making Land Park whole. The neighborhood is split at Vallejo Way, with the north side represented by Serna and the south by Kennedy. Serna wanted to maintain the separation.
Kennedy went along with the program until the fi nal vote to adopt the lines, which were drawn by county staff. Then he formally declared the process made him “uncomfortable.” He said the
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By Howard Schmidt Inside The County
new map “did not address community concerns.”
Afterward he sent out a newsletter stating, “Not enough weight was given to the concerns voiced by South Sacramento Asian Pacifi c Islanders.”
Kennedy declared the process had been “fl awed” due to board members “drawing district boundaries at the dais.” He wants a commission to take over when redistricting returns after the 2030 census.
The protest by Kennedy should be treated with skepticism—or even cynicism. Supervisors could have deployed a redistricting commission in 2021, but they thought it was fi ne to control their own boundaries, Kennedy included.
When redistricting began, Kennedy thought it was fi ne for him and his colleagues to run the process. Only at the end did he grasp the consequences of keeping it in the hands of politicians rather than citizen appointees.
SHERIFF ELECTION
The race to succeed retiring Sheriff Scott Jones has a twist. Jones endorsed his chief deputy Jim Barnes for the job but a coronation is not a sure thing. Barnes faces a potential obstacle with the possible candidacy of Assemblymember Jim Cooper, a former deputy who lost the sheriff’s race to Jones in 2010.
Twelve years ago, Cooper had the endorsement of the local deputies’ labor group and still fell short by about 3,000 votes. Now the union is endorsing Barnes. Cooper has until early March to decide whether he campaigns for another Assembly term or goes for sheriff. He can’t run for both.
Howard Schmidt worked on federal, state and local levels of government, including 16 years for Sacramento County. He can be reached at howardschmidt218@aol.com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @ insidesacramento. n
WAYNE THIEBAUD
1920-2021
“Self-Portrait (4 Hour Study)” Wayne Thiebaud, 1989, oil, 11.5 inches by 12 inches.
In his 2020 interview with Artnet News, which coincided with his 100th birthday celebrations, Thiebaud was asked to divulge his secret to a long and happy life. At the time, he was still regularly painting and playing tennis. “I spend a lot of time in the studio,” the artist said. “I work almost every day. I have a wonderful family who indulges me in this amazing search for how diffi cult it is to make a good painting.”
“Sometimes a city gets lucky when someone special chooses it as their home. That’s the story with Sacramento and Wayne Thiebaud.” Cecily Hastings, November 2020
26YEARS
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FEBRUARY 2022
EAST SAC
26YEARS
S A C R A M E N T O
FEBRUARY 2022
ARDEN
26YEARS
S A C R A M E N T O
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LAND PARK/GRID
26YEARS
S A C R A M E N T O
FEBRUARY 2022
WAYNE THIEBAUD
SUZANNE MURRAY
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