With Sacramento’s local elections taking place in June, the City Council’s District 1 race in North Natomas is beginning to divide the region’s most powerful local politicians.
Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty and Vice Mayor Karina Talamantes chose to endorse first-time candidate and challenger Jenn Chawla late last week over incumbent Lisa Kaplan, who has held the seat since 2022.
In a press release, Mayor McCarty said Chawla’s community and professional experience make her the right candidate to tackle issues in the fast-growing and largely residential district.
“Her integrity, background in the FBI, and deep commitment to community service give her a unique perspective to address public safety and neighborhood issues,” McCarty said.
Chawla is former FBI investigator who resigned last year after 13 years of service. According to her campaign website, her priorities include public safety, addressing mail theft, government accountability, smart growth and a compassionate response to homelessness.
Chawla’s campaign has also garnered support from other politicians running for election this cycle, including former mayoral runner up and current Sacramento County Board of Supervisor candidate Flojaune Coffer.
Coffer told CapRadio she’s donated to Chawla’s campaign, and thinks Chawla will do a good job working collaboratively with the other council members.
“One of the things that I think is most important about Jenn is that she’s focused on the constituents — that to me matters,” Coffer said. “Not sort of the infighting that sometimes happens between elected officials that we all end up being held hostage to.”
The endorsements from McCarty and Talamantes, who represents the other half of Natomas, come after public disagreements over where to place a tiny home community for District 1’s unhoused population.
The current spot selected for a microcommunity in District 1 is at 3111 Arena Blvd. Kaplan has publicly objected to the location, and told her constituents through her weekly newsletter last month that she would support legal action against the development, should anyone take it.
“The last remaining option I have in my power is to attempt to get a council vote to stop the construction of the micro-community (that is why I submitted my proposal),” Kaplan wrote in a newsletter from February 20. “That is unless someone in the community sues to stop its construction. I will stand beside you, if that lawsuit is filed.”
Kaplan filed a proposal that same day alongside council members Rick Jennings and Talamantes to repeal an ordinance passed in 2023 that gives the city manager control over where to place emergency shelters in the city.
Though Talamantes is a part of the effort to repeal the ordinance, she said in the endorsement statement for Chawla that strong working relations on the council are essential.
“I need to be able to work very closely with the councilmember that represents the neighboring district,” Talamantes said. “Jenn is incredibly smart and a straight shooter.”
Still, Kaplan does have the support of three current city council members, along with the backing of former District 1 councilmember and current State Senator Angelique Ashby, and former Sacramento Mayor Darell Steinberg.
Kaplan’s priorities don’t deviate much from her opponent – these include public safety, improved city infrastructure, and investments in parks as well as youth services.
City Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum told CapRadio that North Natomas would benefit from Kaplan’s continued leadership.
“ Lisa’s been a great partner. [She] has been a tremendous advocate for Natomas and a great partner to work with on issues citywide,” Pluckebaum said.
What sets District 1 apart from the others?
Each district in the city is designed to have an average of about 65,000 residents, but the Natomas region is still being built out and is undergoing significant amounts of change.
Former Sacramento Mayor and District 3 Natomas resident Heather Fargo told CapRadio that whoever leads District 1 needs to be critical when it comes to new development, and look to invest in community spaces.
“ I think the need is to actually develop some community resources for people. Not just a place to live, but a coffee house, a bar, a grocery store,” Fargo said. “I don’t consider Costco to be a neighborhood serving commercial operation.”
As the current president of the Environmental Council of Sacramento, Fargo is looking for someone to stand up to the county and city on contentious large scale development projects that threaten protected land in the Natomas Basin Conservancy.
This includes an approved commercial warehouse district called Airport South Industrial, which is currently in litigation. Plans for a separate development near Natomas, the highly-debated 9,000 home Upper Westside project, are on hold until the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors revisits the proposal next month.
“ Someone needs to be very thoughtful about what’s approved and what isn’t,” Fargo said.
There are a total of four people running for the District 1 seat. Sacramento’s local election will take place on June 2.
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