Earlier this week, Sacramento’s 57th mayor Kevin McCarty was sworn in. As the city welcomes the next chapter in leadership, it also marks an ending for Darrell Steinberg.
The now former mayor has spent more than 30 years in local politics, first appointed to Sacramento City Council in 1992, then moving on to the state Assembly and becoming a leader in the state Senate, before serving two terms as Sacramento’s 56th Mayor.
Steinberg spoke with CapRadio’s Insight Host Vicki Gonzalez to reflect on his career in elected office, as well as what he is open to pursuing in the future.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Interview highlights
You were born in the Bay area, just south of San Francisco. You went to law school at UC Davis. What initially brought you to Sacramento?
Well, a job with a law firm that frankly didn't work out. But then I was lucky and I found a job representing fired workers with the California State Employees Association, and learned how to be an advocate. And got the political bug and got involved with some city commissions.
Then I moved to Tahoe Park and I helped start the neighborhood association. And in 1992 — I tell the story often — now federal judge, then council member Kim Mueller was going to run for re-election and the night before the filing deadline she called me at 10:30 at night. [She] said that day, she got admitted to Stanford Law School and would not be running for re-election and asked me if I would consider running. I turned to my wife of nine months and said, “What do you think?” And she said, “Well, why not, it sounds like an adventure.”
I can honestly say that, even though I had thoughts of it before, that I decided to run for public office overnight. I signed up, I campaigned, I won, and of course it's been 32 years, 28 of them in elective office, where I've had the great privilege of representing the people of Sacramento. So that decision at 10:30 at night really kickstarted this political career of more than three decades.
Of course, you went on to the State Assembly, you became a leader in the State Senate then became mayor — two terms — for the city of Sacramento. Why do you think this became a career for you?
I have a passion for it. I was asked in one word to describe my approach and philosophy, and the word that came to mind was “believer.” I'm a believer. I'm a believer that the human condition can be better. I'm a believer that you can actually make great progress through the difficult form of government, democracy, that we have in this country. I believe that we don't have to accept things that are plain unacceptable, like the plight of people living on the street with serious mental illness. I believe that there is great value in reaching far, and trying to achieve great things even if sometimes you come up short, because if you don't, if you don't strive and reach, you don't get nearly as far. Maybe that's a little bit of the story of my mayorship.
There aren't term limits for mayor, you could have ran again. You chose not to, and at least publicly, it wasn't an immediate decision. Was there something that changed within your last term that gave you pause or even apprehension to run again?
I think there's a season for everything in life and having served eight years — and almost 30 years in total — I felt like it was enough. It was enough for me personally. Even for the city, I think these high pressure, quasi-executive or executive jobs have a shelf life. I think you get in there, you do your very best for eight years, and then I think it's appropriate to turn it over to somebody else. Nobody is indispensable. And I just felt like it was the right time for me.
All those of us in politics are built a certain way: It's strive for the next thing, or achieve more, and I still have a lot of that in me. But I also feel like I have nothing that I have to prove anymore. I was President Pro Tem of the Senate. I helped the state through the worst recession in modern history. I've been an eclectic legislator, I accomplished things that have been groundbreaking in a variety of areas as mayor. I helped lead the state through these difficult periods and achieved a lot, whether it's the 41% reduction in unsheltered homelessness, the breakthrough on the Railyards [development] and the soccer stadium and the waterfront and Aggie Square and the creative economy and so much more.
I feel like I'm at a good place in life and I still have the fire, but I at least want to explore whether there might be other ways to serve and contribute.
I do think about the last four years as life before the pandemic and after the pandemic. Did that play a role in whether you wanted to go at this again?
I think the pandemic was a big part of it. It was a life-altering event that affected me personally, but more importantly, affected the lives of our society and certainly our city. I have a saying that someone once told me: “You don’t pick your time. Your time picks you.” And the time keeps picking me for these challenging leadership roles during challenging times.
I suppose that it was a variety of things for me. I do think the mayor in this city has a unique role, even more than state Senator or State Senate President Pro Tem. The people project onto their mayor all of their feelings. Sometimes they’re good and great feelings. And sometimes there’s feelings of great frustration. This job has all of the accountability, much less authority. And I have loved it. I really have, but I just decided that after all of it, that I wanted to do something else in life, and I don’t feel like I have to hold onto a title in any way in order to have a meaningful life and to contribute.
I do think we’re living in an era where people have to learn again how to be civil with one another. I think that people think that if you’re nice or civil, you’re not principled or you’re not willing to have a fight. Well, I’ll tell you, I’m willing to have a fight. I always have. But I think it’s the way you go about having the fight. It’s the way you try to bring people together that matters, especially now in this era. There’s so many issues that require principled compromise and most people of goodwill, if you listen to them, you can actually learn something from them. Now, there are exceptions, I say anyone who is a hater or a bigot, I don’t want anything to do with them. They're out of the conversation.
But if you're a person of goodwill in this city and you have a different view on the role of law enforcement or how to handle the homeless problem or how fast the city should grow, it's about trying to move the city forward. But do so in a way that brings people together.
I think despite the messiness of all of it, I've done that. And I hope that I've done it well.
Do you think the city is in a better place today in 2024, compared to in 2015, when you were campaigning to become mayor?
I do. Understanding that we had this intervening historic event, a pandemic, where our central city shut down. And there was a great blow to our economy, but I look at the growth of the creative economy, tourism, the music festivals. I look at what we just achieved these last months, finally breaking through, on the Railyards and what is coming in terms of soccer. I look at the waterfront.
I think we have changed the arc of the city to say that the role of city government is, yes, to provide the basic services, that's most important, but it's so much more. It's actually finding ways for the city to partner with the private sector [and] the nonprofit sector. To invest directly in our neighborhoods, in our communities, centered around growth and opportunity for people. I look at that 41% reduction in unsheltered homelessness between 2022 and 2024 and say, we’re going in the right direction.
And so given what we have been through, I think the arc of the city is tremendous. I think the best days are ahead.
The next mayor is Kevin McCarty, and he has a similar political trajectory as you: He was in the City Council, he went to the state Legislature. He is now mayor, but this race was incredibly close. What message do you think voters sent by nearly electing Cofer over someone with much greater name recognition?
I think it was a change election. I mean, look, mayors did not fare so well who ran for re-election: London Breed in San Francisco, Sheng Thao was recalled in Oakland. I think people are frustrated about a lot of things, about the state of society — if not their city. Dr. Cofer brought a real energy and campaigned well. In the end though, McCarty did get 51% of the vote and I think people do value experience and the ability to get things done, and I think he’s going to do a great job. I think people need to give him a chance, we all have a responsibility to help him because he’s the mayor of Sacramento and we want our city to succeed. And so I think he will do it in his own way.
Let’s love our city and support those in positions of leadership and responsibility. That doesn’t mean not being critical of them, but let’s support them and uplift them because that’s what’s good for our city.
The next election is in two years, that’s going to be here before we know it. Are we going to see your name on the ticket?
Politics is still a possibility, but I don’t know exactly what may be open, and I also have said many times I want for myself to be open to the possibility of contributing, serving and living outside of elective office, because that’s what I’ve done for most of my adult life. So we will see. I get asked this of course about 20 times a day and I’m never ducking the question. I really am not, I have just made myself leave this chapter with a commitment to just taking a breath and figuring out what’s next.
What advice do you have for those who will become the next generation of Sacramento politicians?
Be open to learning the craft. Because politics, which I think is a very honorable term, is a learned trade. And so be open to listening and learning about how you can improve your own craft, how to listen, how to put together coalitions, how to speak and lead publicly. Whether you’re in office or not — because you always have to stand for re-election — be in it for the long haul. It’s worth it.
