Sacramento has officially sworn in its 57th mayor, former Assembly member Kevin McCarty.
McCarty was sworn in by his sister on Tuesday night during Sacramento’s City Council meeting, alongside new council members Phil Pluckebaum and Roger Dickinson. Sitting Council members Eric Guerra and Mai Vang were also sworn in again after winning reelection in the districts they respectively represent.
“I come in [with my] eyes wide open, optimistic about the present and the future,” McCarty said from his new seat on the dais. He also thanked former Mayor Darrell Steinberg for his work over the last eight years.
Former Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg listens from the audience during a Sacramento City Council meeting on Dec. 10, 2024.Gerardo Zavala/CapRadio
McCarty won the mayoral race by a slim margin, just 1,941 votes ahead of his opponent, Epidemiologist Dr. Flojaune Cofer. The race was not decided until Dec. 3, nearly a month after Election Day.
During his first speech from the dais, McCarty recalled the moment he found out he’d won. County elections employees called to tell him he’d won by 1,941 votes, to which he responded, “of course, that’s the year my mother was born.”
He also acknowledged the large number of constituents who voted for Cofer, saying that he intended to serve “as a proud mayor for all of Sacramento.”
He added that he plans to hold a 90-day listening tour around the city as he starts his time as mayor.
The council had one item on the agenda regarding the continuation of City Manager Howard Chan’s contract, but deferred that decision to next week. McCarty said the meeting was about celebrating the new leadership, instead.
Kevin McCarty speaks during his first city council meeting as mayor on Dec. 10, 2024.Gerardo Zavala/CapRadio
McCarty previously represented District 6 — much of Sacramento County — in the California state Assembly. He was elected in 2014 and has authored a number of bills that covered a wide range of topics from student safety to firearms to probation.
Before his time in the Assembly, McCarty served as a Sacramento City Council member representing District 6, which includes College Glen, Tahoe Park, and other parts of southeastern Sacramento.
McCarty has previously said as mayor he wouldn’t make any cuts to police, fire or parks, adding the city must enforce its anti-camping laws as it confronts the homeless crisis.
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