Voters get to skip the chore of picking a new City Council in November. The city election was canceled, blessedly, when all four incumbents won their seats in the June primary.
I don’t always fall for incumbents. Council shakeups can be good. But this year, after talking to some of the people who wanted to replace them, I knew incumbents were the way to go.
Several people who ran against City Council incumbents didn’t know much about city government. They didn’t know how municipal budgets work, didn’t understand the difference between what labor unions expect and what’s best for the public, didn’t grasp why zoning decisions are paramount.
Photo by R.E. Graswich
This year’s upstart candidates seem like nice people. But it’s good they didn’t shove the incumbents into November runoffs or win outright. Runoffs would have been a waste of money. Victories by inexperienced rookies would have been disastrous.
Even with four victorious incumbents, the council isn’t static. Two members are running for county and federal positions in November. If they win, special elections will replace them. Lose, and they keep their council jobs.
The current City Council began poorly and improved. Early on, members blew their budgets with unsustainable pet projects. They inhaled federal and state handouts. They nearly sidetracked redevelopment progress in the Downtown Railyards.
That’s what politicians do when they’re new. They gaze in the mirror and congratulate themselves. They dismiss promises and expectations that put them in office. They spend dollars that don’t exist.
Incumbents aren’t immune to forgetting why they are at City Hall. But the longer they serve, the more they understand the importance of collaboration and the satisfaction of leading a vibrant, successful city.
The current council isn’t perfect. Shortcomings turn up often.
Consider a basic task: managing audience misbehavior at City Council meetings.
Mayor Kevin McCarty inherited the problem from Mayor Darrell Steinberg who lit the fuse eight years ago when he passively watched a guy jump up onto the dais and make a speech.
The spectacle produced toxic social media and inspired imitators.
Like Steinberg, McCarty has no excuse for losing control of meetings. McCarty has been a politician for more than two decades. He’s had enough time to study tactics and think about solutions.
Chaos didn’t erupt under former mayor Kevin Johnson. I worked for Johnson and sat through endless City Council meetings. Johnson had various weaknesses, but crowd control wasn’t among them.
One night at City Council an audience member got excited and started swearing while addressing the board. Johnson never liked swearing.
The mayor rose, walked slowly around the dais, crooked his index finger and beckoned the speaker over. The chamber fell silent.
The offender, suddenly no longer big and bold, slunk toward Johnson like a bad dog. The mayor whispered a few words. The guy said, “Thank you,” and sat down. No more swearing.
At dinner after the meeting, I asked Johnson what he said to the guy. The mayor smiled. “He just wanted my autograph.”
Johnson was an NBA star, accustomed to performing in front of rowdy, boozy crowds. McCarty can’t match Johnson’s experience at de-escalation or commanding a room.
But McCarty can still learn some lessons from former mayor Johnson. Such as:
Take the offender out of their comfort zone. Break their momentum. Show them who’s in charge. Keep pens handy for autographs.
R.E. Graswich can be reached at regraswich@icloud.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento.
