Sacramento City Councilmember Lisa Kaplan, left, and Jennifer Chawla, a first time candidate, are running against each other for a Sacramento city council seat.
The Sacramento Bee
Sacramento City Councilmember Lisa Kaplan sailed on to council to represent North Natomas in 2022, but this time she has a serious challenger who has so far raised nearly as much cash.
Campaign finance documents filed with the city and available as of Thursday showed Jennifer Chawla, a first-time candidate, raised $107,349 and reported $82,448 in cash on hand. Kaplan reported raising $89,998 and holding $139,091 in cash on hand.
Chawla, a former FBI supervisory investigative specialist and first-time candidate, is running for the council’s 1st District. She has also received endorsements from Mayor Kevin McCarty, Councilmember Karina Talamantes and the Sacramento Central Labor Council. She stood on the picket lines supporting striking Natomas Unified School District teachers last month, according to her Instagram page.
Kaplan, an attorney who served on the Natomas Unified board for over 20 years before she was elected to the council, has received donations from the city police and firefighter unions, developers and business groups. Kaplan’s predecessor on council, state Sen. Angelique Ashby, D-Sacramento, also donated to Kaplan’s campaign — a shift since she endorsed one of Kaplan’s opponents in 2022.
Despite not holding elected office, Chawla appears to have political connections. She received a contribution from the campaign of Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen, D-Elk Grove, as well as a personal donation from Flojaune Cofer, a candidate for the county’s 1st Supervisorial District seat. Chawla also reported donations from Jay Mundy of Tera Properties LLC and from business owners, including several gas station and convenience store owners.
A third candidate, Venkateshwar Mechineni, is running for the seat but reported raising $4,331, according to city documents. The primary election is scheduled for June 2. If any candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, that candidate wins outright. Otherwise, the race will advance to the Nov. 3 general election.
Donations to Kaplan’s campaignCommittee for Home Ownership of the North State Building Industry Association: $7,300California Real Estate PAC: $6,050Sacramento Police Officers Association: $4,750San Francisco Laborers Local 261: $2,200Mark Friedman, developer, Fulcrum Property Group: $2,200Nikki Advis of Advis Ranch: $2,050Inconcepts LLC and Carescope LLC, both of which Frank Sim is the CEO of, according to 2026 state filings: $2,000Urban Capital LLC, a development company for which John Vignocchi is the CEO, according to a 2025 state filing: $1,951SAFE Credit Union: $1,800Doron Levitan, COO of Priority Parking: $1,701Behroze Miry, developer at Bardis & Miry: $1,500Monique Langer’s former campaign for Natomas School Board: $1,500Cement Mason’s Local 400: $1,250Wendy Li, director of Simgate LLC — an LLC for which Frank Sim is the manager, according to a 2024 state form: $1,000Operating Engineers Local 3: $1,000David Tooley, vice president of Tooley Oil Co.: $1,000Campaign account of State Sen. Angelique Ashby, D-Sacramento: $1,000Sotiris Kolokotronis, manager of SKK Development, according to a 2026 state form: $1,000Abdul Ejaz, CEO of Onyx Investment Group: $1,000IBEW Local 1245: $1,000Miry Development LLC (Bay Miry): $1,000Fahn Brothers Properties LLC (Kenneth Fahn): $500Jason Kinney, Axiom Advisors consultant: $500Molina Healthcare Inc., a company for which Abbie Totten of Long Beach is the CEO, according to a 2026 state form: $500Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522: $500LDKV Management Inc. — a Sacramento company for which Larry Denton Kelley Jr. is the CEO, according to a 2025 state form: $500Holloway Land Co. — a Sacramento company for which Brian Frank Holloway is the CEO, according to a 2026 state form: $450Lund Construction Co. — a Sacramento company for which Kevin M. Lund is CEO, according to a 2026 state form: $250Samarjit Singh Malhi, CEO of Tobacco Cartel Inc.: $250Alvin Cheung, president and CEO of California Northstate University: $250Donations to Chawla’s campaignTera Properties LLC and Tera Investments Inc. (Jay Mundy) : $4,400Charanjit Mundy, owner of Chevron, Davis: $2,200Grass Valley Chevron: $2,200Campaign account of Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen, D-Elk Grove: $2,200Mohammed Marleen, CEO of Prohealth: $2,200Mandeep Kaur, business owner: $2,200Tabish Anwar, owner of Burraq Inc.: $2,200City Liquor and Food: $2,200Sharif Jewelers: $2,000The Munirs Co. — a company for which Mohammad Tariq Munir is the CEO, according to a 2025 state form: $2,000Central Management LLC (Jaswinder Randhawa): $1,100Well Care Pharmacy: $1,000Rajinder Singh, business owner: $1,000Service Outlet, Roseville: $1,000Parmar Fuels, Inc. — a Roseville company for which Parneet S. Parmar is CEO, according to a 2025 state form: $1,000Azadwinder Singh, owner of Warriors Transportation: $1,000Kandola and Sons Inc. — a company for which Amarjit Kandola is the agent, according to a 2026 state form: $1,000Flojaune Cofer’s personal account. She is a candidate for Sacramento County Board of Supervisors: $500Rai Bassai Petroleum Inc. (Northridge Arco, Roseville): $500
This story was originally published April 3, 2026 at 11:21 AM.
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Theresa Clift is the Regional Watchdog Reporter for The Sacramento Bee. She covered Sacramento City Hall for The Bee from 2018 through 2024. Before joining The Bee, she worked for newspapers in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin. She grew up in Michigan and graduated with a journalism degree from Central Michigan University.