Who’s running for Sacramento City Council in March 2024? Here are the candidates

By Kristin Lam

On January 19, 2024

Four Sacramento City Council seats are up for election in the March 2024 primary. 

Voters living in Districts 2, 4, 6 and 8 will weigh in on who represents their area on the city’s law-making body. Only the District 8 election is uncontested, with Council member Mai Vang running for another term unopposed.

If candidates receive more than 50% of the vote in their respective council district races, they would win outright. But if no candidate in a council district race receives a majority vote, the top two will advance to a runoff election in November 2024. 

Council members vote on the city’s budget and policies, covering issues from housing development projects to road improvements to park programs. The winners of the upcoming elections will serve a four-year term starting in December 2024. 

If a candidate for the District 2 seat wins outright in March, the council plans to appoint that person to fill the remainder of former Council member Sean Loloee’s term.

The March primary marks the first time the city will use new boundaries for even-numbered districts that a commission approved two years ago. People living in deferred areas will be able to vote for a council member for the first time since 2018. 

District 2 includes Del Paso Heights, Hagginwood and Woodlake; District 4 includes Downtown, Midtown and East Sacramento; District 6 includes Tahoe Park, Colonial Heights and Campus Commons; and District 8 includes Meadowview, Deerfield/Mesa Grande and Valley Hi. 

Campaign announcements began more than a year ago, but the candidate fields became official after the filing period ended in December. Here’s who is running in the March 5 Primary Election by each district in alphabetical order.

District 2

Alicia Bledsoe: She announced plans to run for the seat in December 2022. Bledsoe lives in Del Paso Heights. 

Daryl Collins: The retired law enforcement officer filed his candidacy paperwork in December. His campaign did not provide a photo to CapRadio.

Kim Davie: The retired vice principal for Grant Union High School is running for the seat. Davie lives in Strawberry Manor.

Roger Dickinson: The former state lawmaker announced his campaign in June. He served as a state assembly member from 2010 to 2014, and as a Sacramento County Supervisor from 1994 to 2010. He lives in Woodlake and works as the policy director for CivicWell, a nonprofit that supports developing sustainable policies. 

Ramona Landeros: The former Twin Rivers Unified School Board member is running for the seat. She previously campaigned to represent District 2 in March 2020, but didn’t advance to the runoff election. She is the founder of the Benito Juarez Association, which has organized food drives and legal workshops.

Penelope Larry: The small business owner is campaigning for the seat. She has supervised a weekly grocery distribution at Potters House Church for seven years.

Mary Russell: She filed paperwork to run for office in December. Russell trades stocks, manages rental properties and prepares taxes for work. She has lived in Sacramento for five years. Russell did not provide a photo to CapRadio.

Veronica Smith: She launched her campaign in December. Smith used to work as the chief of staff for former City Council member Sean Loloee. She also previously worked for the City of Sacramento’s Economic Development Department, as well as for the County of Sacramento.

Stephen Walton: The real estate agent filed paperwork to run for the seat in December. He grew up in Del Paso Heights and graduated from Grant Union High School. Walton has worked as a community ambassador for the City of Sacramento and a financial literacy coach.

District 4

Marilynn Mackey: The real estate broker filed paperwork to run for office in December. Mackey is a longtime Sacramento resident who went to McClatchy High School. She owns Central City Real Estate.

Phil Pluckebaum: A UC Davis Health project manager, he announced his campaign in February 2023. Pluckebaum served on the city’s Sacramento Planning and Design Commission for eight years. He has also been on the River Park Neighborhood Association Board for six years. 

Katie Valenzuela: She has been the District 4 council member since December 2020, after winning the March primary election that year. Valenzuela announced her reelection campaign in March 2023. She is a consultant on environmental issues and previously worked for the California Environmental Justice Alliance. 

District 6

David Drelinger: The legal document assistant filed paperwork to run in December. He graduated from Lincoln Law School and grew up in the foster and group home system.

Eric Guerra: He has been the District 6 council member since he won a special election in 2015. Guerra is campaigning to keep his seat through 2028. Guerra ran for the state Assembly in 2022, but lost to Stephanie Nguyen.

Kevin Rooney: The plumbing contractor and small business owner filed paperwork to run for office in December. He previously ran for the District 6 seat in March 2020, when he received 14% of the vote. Rooney did not provide a photo to CapRadio.

KC Schuft: The real estate agent filed paperwork to run for office in December. She has lived in the Colonial Heights neighborhood for 20 years.

District 8

Mai Vang: She has been the District 8 council member since December 2020, after winning the November runoff election that year. Vang is campaigning for reelection and no one is currently running against her. She previously served on the Sacramento City Unified School District Board from 2016 to 2020. 

This piece was republished from Cap Radio.