Correction: A previous version of this article stated that candidate Scott Lau wanted to promote transit reliability and cut bus lines that aren't well travelled. It has been corrected to say Lau is in favor of transit reliability and using more efficient vehicles like cutaway busses on less-traveled lines.
Three candidates are competing in Sacramento’s District 7 city council race in the June 2 primary: incumbent Rick Jennings, CalTrans planner Scott Lau, and former Stockton City Attorney Mark Velasquez.
Whoever wins the seat will represent approximately 66,000 people in neighborhoods including the Pocket, Curtis Park, Land Park, Greenhaven and Z’berg Park. Councilmembers decide how the city spends its money, advocate for constituents in their district and take votes on new development citywide.
Sacramento’s District 7 is largely residential and is home to some of the city’s most well-known parks outside of downtown and East Sacramento. Latest developments in the district include the completion of the Del Rio Trail Bridge after delays over faulty concrete, and the possible expansion of the Sacramento Zoo in Land Park, which is currently in the planning process.
City officials are also looking to find a site within District 7 to build a “micro-community” of 40 tiny homes for unhoused seniors 55 and up as a part of Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty’s six-point plan to address homelessness.
CapRadio spoke with the candidates running for the seat. They discussed what their areas of focus are, where they stand on a micro-community in the district, the opportunities they see for economic growth, and how they would address the city’s $66.2 million budget deficit.
Courtesy of Rick JenningsRick Jennings
Age: 73
Notable Campaign Donations: California Apartment Association PAC ($7,300), Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber PAC ($5,800), North State Building Industry Association ($7,300)
Councilmember Rick Jennings is the longest-serving member of the current city council and was first elected in 2014.
Before then, Jennings was a Sacramento City Unified School Board member for 12 years and a professional football player notably earning a Super Bowl win with the Oakland Raiders.
Outside of his life in public service, Jennings has run nonprofit organization Center for Fathers and Families for 32 years.
Jennings told CapRadio his priorities are addressing homelessness, the city’s budget deficit, public safety, advocating for the business community and strengthening youth programs.
Jennings said he’s in full support of the city’s current approach to the homeless crisis.
“In all the years I’ve been in Sacramento, since 1986, it’s more of an issue now than it’s ever been before,” Jennings said. “It really is something that we have to heavily invest in, and we’ve got to be intentional about making sure that more people who are homeless find the shelter they need.”
The incumbent said he believes in the mayor’s six-point plan and wants District 7 to be able to contribute. But, he noted that he’s struggling to find city-owned land, as much of his district is built out already.
“I keep looking, looking, looking,” he said. “My next step is to go to our churches who have land and see if they will partner with us.”
When asked about the budget, Jennings said he recognizes the fear surrounding cuts to services for residents.
“If there’s one thing I’m standing on is that I don’t want to affect our core services that are needed in order for people to have a quality of life they’ve learned to enjoy,” Jennings said. “I don’t want to affect our parks and our entertainment.”
Jennings told CapRadio he also wants to ensure that youth initiatives and services for the region’s elderly are not affected in this current budget cycle.
In terms of economic development, Jennings said he believes the council should take a more proactive role in advocating for struggling businesses around town before they shutter.
“By the time we hear about them closing their doors, they’ve already closed and they’re gone,” he said. “To me, it’s us as councilmembers getting out there and getting close to our business community to understand more about what they’re having to deal with.”
Scott Lau
Courtesy of Scott LauAge: 34
Notable Campaign Donations: Attorney Anh Phoong Salcedo ($1,000), Sac City Unified School Board Member Taylor Kayatta ($350)
Scott Lau grew up in Sacramento’s District 7 and is an urban planner for CalTrans. He is a first-time candidate and comes from a working-class immigrant family.
He earned his undergraduate degree from Arizona State University and his MBA from Texas A&M.
The Sacramento native’s priorities lie in public safety, proactive infrastructure, affordability and supporting small business.
“ When it comes to public safety, I think everyone just thinks about the police, right?” Lau said. “When I think about public safety, I think about, is it safe to cross the street, the road? Is it safe for me to bike around town?”
When asked about affordability, Lau is in favor of transit reliability and using more efficient vehicles like cutaway busses on less-traveled lines. He also favors reactivating struggling shopping centers, he said.
“There’s all these shopping centers with huge parking lots that we could activate,” Lau said.
Lau believes Sacramento is still thinking “in the box” when it comes to homeless initiatives.
“These tiny home communities require a lot of land,” he said. “They’re all still single stories. Could there be an opportunity where we could have multistories?”
Like the other candidates Lau acknowledged that land is sparse in District 7, but also feels the area needs to contribute.
“Saying no is not a good answer,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of empty space here … but not in the asking acreage or size that we have. But here’s the thing - we could build multi-story homeless housing.”
Lau’s outlook on the city’s budget deficit includes taking a hard look at where money has gone in the last few years through an audit and reallocating funds.
“Let’s just say we have a $10 million road construction project. We put all the $10 million in there, but it’s been sitting there for the past five years,” he said. “There’s no new work being made, so what’s that $10 million doing there?”
Lau sees the issue of economic development and public safety as intertwined. He said the city needs to create a more robust security system for businesses experiencing frequent break-ins, one that goes beyond cameras.
“We just have a ton of security cameras but these cameras have video quality so low that if I put a facemask on you won’t even know me from your supervisor,” Lau said.
Courtesy of Mark VelasquezMark Velasquez
Age: 54
Notable Campaign Donations: None reported
Mark Velasquez is a first-time candidate for elected office but is not new to city government. Velazquez most recently served as a deputy city attorney for the city of Stockton.
Velasquez is a graduate of McGeorge School of Law, has a commercial pilots license and has lived in Sacramento for approximately 12 years.
Velasquez told CapRadio his priorities are homelessness, affordability and safety. More specifically Velasquez wants to focus on pedestrian safety and ensuring students have safe sidewalks to get them to school.
“We actually have several elementary schools that don’t have completed sidewalks leading to them,” he explained.
Velasquez said if elected, he would want to ensure that projects in the district get completed, such as the river trail which has been under construction for over two decades.
“I’m not running to start anything over or create something new,” Velasquez said. “The city does a great job of studying and starting things, but not following through on things.”
The attorney said he feels the same about homeless initiatives in the city – he said he doesn’t want to bring anything new forward, but instead support current efforts and ensure there is a return on investment for the new initiatives.
In terms of District 7, he is supportive of the district doing its part to host homeless services, but does acknowledge the challenge of finding city land.
“The city has asked the districts to look for longer term sites and that has been a problem literally because we don’t have the right sites,” he said. “I’m not opposed to it whatsoever, it's just the nature of what we have available.”
Velasquez said his philosophy when it comes to the city’s budget and making cuts is to cut programs before employees.
“It’s finding the programs that don’t have returns on investments,” Velasquez said. “The programs that bring in very short-term gains but cost a lot.”
For economic development, Velasquez wants the city to continue streamlining small business permits and invest in local shops.
Though not an economic driver nor in his district, Velasquez has championed the idea of turning at least a portion of a vacant 102-acre parcel in District 8 to become some form of a public cemetery.
Velasquez lost his daughter to cancer and believes that burials within Sacramento should be more affordable.
“It makes me sick when I see families on the corner of Fruitridge and Franklin with cans advertising they’re collecting money to be able to afford a burial,” he said. “That should never happen.”
Campaign finance data is as of May 5, 2026.
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