The three candidates for the District 5 seat on City Council have traveled dramatically different paths to the race, though they agree for the most part on the challenges that lie ahead for the city.
All three say issues they would stress include homelessness and housing, fair distribution of the community’s resources, and improvement in programs for children. What they disagree about is who is in the best position to address those challenges.
The three candidates have committed to appearing together at a forum at 6:30 p.m. May 9 in Curtis Hall at the Sierra 2 Center.
The incumbent, Jay Schenirer, has been a councilmember since 2010, longer than any current member except Angelique Ashby, who was elected the same year.
Schenirer says he seeks election to a third term because “I think I can make a difference. I think I can improve the lives of the people I represent. I believe that’s a worthy cause.”
Before he became a councilmember, Schenirer worked in state government, was general manager of the Sacramento Food Bank, was a member of the city school board and ran his own consulting business.
“I don’t think many people can bring the perspective I bring,” Schenirer says, referring to his experience in government, nonprofits, politics and business. “I have close supporters across the board — I don’t think I’m a kneejerk anything.”
Candidate Tamika L’Ecluse is a former president of the Oak Park Neighborhood Association. She says she decided to run “because I think it’s time for a new voice and new perspective, and bringing my experiences to some of the discussion and decision making.”
L’Ecluse worked as a teacher at a Montessori school from 2003 to 2016, when she went to work for a year in community advocacy for the Black Child Legacy nonprofit campaign.
She sees a crisis of housing affordability driving people out of the city, “people unable to keep up and make ends meet. Their safety net is crumbling and it’s our job to mend them any way that we can.”
Candidate Joseph Barry, who lives in the Freeport Manor neighborhood, is a doctoral student in education at Sacramento State University. He has a bachelor’s degree in communication from Sacramento State and a master’s in disability studies from California Baptist University in Riverside.
Barry describes himself as a disability rights advocate. He says he’s running because of “a plethora of issues — and it comes down to I’m dissatisfied with my representation.”
Rather than spending money on downtown development, Barry thinks the emphasis should change. “I feel like we’ve been paying a lot in taxes and I don’t see my park here upgraded since I can remember.”
Barry says city officials brag about what they are doing to address the issue of homelessness “while people are sleeping outside the council building. The homeless situation has to be dealt with without draining the budget, but I think it can be done.”
The irregularly shaped district includes all of Curtis Park and encompasses a number of diverse neighborhoods, roughly from Highway 50 on the north, Stockton Boulevard on the northeast, Florin Road on the south and Interstate 5 on the southwest.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO CANDIDATES
Jay Schenirer
- $5,600 – Cal. Assn. of Realtors, Electrical Workers Local 340, Fire Fighters Local 522, Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 447
- $5,300 – Cal. Apartment Assn.
- $4,000 – Sac. Metro. Chamber
- $3,150 – Sac. Bldg. Trades Council
- $3,000 – Laborers Local 185
- $2,000 – N. State Bldg. Industry Assn., Sac. Police Officers Assn.
- $1,650 – AKT Investments, Clevertree Delivery, Caleb Counts, Cal. Amalgamated Transit Union, Marcine Friedman, Marjorie Solomon Friedman, California Grown, Chase Business Consulting, Fahn Bros. Properties, Ghost Management Group, Caitlin Jeffery, Garry Maisel, Marquee Media Solutions, MMS Strategies, PG&E Corp., Signal Court Partners, Steinberg for Sac. Mayor 2016, David S. Taylor Interests Inc., Taylor & Wiley Attorneys, Teranomic, Thomas Law Group, Townsend Calkin Tapio Inc., Townsend Raimundo et al., Corey Travis, Uptown Studios Inc., D.R. Welch Attorneys
- $1,525 – William Abbott
- $1,500 – Elaine C. Schenirer, Teichert Inc.
- $1,000 – 1801 L, Steven Ayers, Hong Bai, Susanne Burton, CFY Development, Encore McKinley Village, Sandra Einberg, Gregory Geeting, Stefanie Gernert, Harrison Temblador et al., Lloyd Harvego, Kevin Nagle, Randy Paragary Properties, PDEE Inc., Painters & Allied Trades, Republic Services, Patrick Sabelhaus, Sac. Electrical Contractors Assn., Melissa Sanchez, Sheet Metal Workers 104, S. Land Park Shopping Center
Tamika L’Ecluse
- $2,055 – ActBlue
- $1,650 – Alexis Briggs, Ian Briggs, McCarty for Assembly, Cheryl Petrovich*, Paul Petrovich* (Petrovich contributions refunded, view correction here)
- $1,000 – Timothy Allen, Generations Change, Steven L’Ecluse
Joseph Barry
- No contributions reported.