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The race for Sacramento County’s District 5 seat is as important as any other in November’s election.
The district, which comprises cities like Rancho Cordova and Elk Grove and spans all the way down to Galt and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta communities like Isleton, will have a new representative for the first time in nearly two decades.
Don Nottoli, who has represented the district since 1994, is not seeking reelection. Looking to fill the seat are Jaclyn Moreno, the president of the Cosumnes Community Services District Board, and longtime Elk Grove City Council member Pat Hume.
The seat has long represented one of the deciding votes on the five-person Board of Supervisors. And in many cases, the two candidates differ in opinion.
Among the issues in the area — as with the rest of the county — is increasing transportation options while balancing the county’s climate goals. The district is vast in land and much of its population is centralized in the ever-growing city of Elk Grove.
Courtesy of Sacramento County
Both candidates spoke on that and other issues earlier this year in a climate change-focused forum moderated by CapRadio and hosted by the Environmental Council of Sacramento, 350 Sacramento, the Sierra Club of Sacramento, and Citizens’ Climate Lobby.
The county’s most pressing concern, however, is homelessness. In recent months, the county approved two ordinances that outlaw homeless encampments along the American River Parkway, near schools, libraries and other areas deemed “critical infrastructure.”
The ordinances on paper mark one of the county’s most aggressive steps toward curtailing homeless camps, which comes as the region’s unhoused population has soared 67% over the past three years to nearly 9,300. But they’ll be difficult to enforce right away because of the county’s limited resources within the parks, sheriff and social services departments.
At a recent debate hosted by the League of Women Voters of Sacramento County, Hume appeared to show some support for the ordinances.
“Time will tell whether or not it’s the right move, but thank God it was a move,” Hume said. “We cannot let perfection stand in the way of good.”
Moreno, meanwhile, said she did not support the ordinance because it would cause “people to be shifted from one place to another.”
“We’re spending a lot of money on this issue and seeing very little results,” Moreno said, “And I want to know why.”
You can watch the full forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Sacramento County here:
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