Angelique Ashby was officially sworn in on Tuesday as the new city councilwoman representing the areas of Alkali Flat, Gardenland/Northgate, and North and South Natomas. The District 1 council seat was vacated by nine-year City Councilman Ray Tretheway, who lost his race against Ashby in June. Ashby, 35, is a first-time council member. Her father, Patric Ashby, gained permission from City Clerk Shirley Concolino to read the new councilwoman her oath. Ashby repeated the oath’s phrases after her father, which include a pledge to “well and faithfully discharge the duties” of her new office. She then took her seat at the City Council’s dais, or stage, and made remarks to the packed room at

  Two local groups continue to protest the Sacramento City Council more than one month after the council decided to boycott Arizona companies. One of the groups, Boycott Sacramento, is intentionally avoiding local businesses in response to the council’s sanctions on Arizona businesses.  Another group, Recall Sacramento, is saying it will attempt to remove certain council members from office. However, Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno said the group has not yet officially started the recall process.  The groups formed after the City Council decided June 15 to dispute Arizona’s new immigration laws by boycotting that state’s companies.  The council passed the boycott in a 6-1 vote, wi

A controversial ballot measure to halt a 9.2 percent city utilities rate hike is causing tension between city staffers and backers of the measure. Two local groups, the Sacramento County Taxpayers League and the Campaign for Common Sense Utilities Rates, have gathered signatures to put an initiative on the Nov. 2 ballot that would stop the rate hike. The Sacramento County Registrar has found that 5,420 signatures presented by the groups were credible, according to a June 22 report from the Utilities Department. The registrar required proof of 5,420 legitimate signatures to place the measure on the ballot. The City Council voted to increase rates on residents’ utilities bills last year, a

The final Sacramento City Council election results did not yield any last-minute statistical miracles. Furthermore, a Sacramento city clerk’s predictions about City Council runoffs proved true: The leading two candidates in Districts 5 and 7 will compete in a Nov. 2 runoff election. The county elections office finished counting ballots from the June 8 election on Wednesday. Candidates Jay Schenirer and Patrick Kennedy will run for the District 5 seat, while candidates Darrell Fong and Ryan Chin will square off in District 7. Incumbent District 1 City Councilman Ray Tretheway lost his battle against challenger Angelique Ashby — just barely. A City Council candidate needs at least 50 per

Jay Schenirer leads the District 5 race for a seat on the City Council with 47.29 percent of the vote, but he has yet to lock in victory, according the the county election results website. A candidate needs 50 percent of the vote plus one to be declared the winner for City Council races. Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno said she thinks that although there are still ballots left to process, it is unlikely that they will give Schenirer the votes he needs to avoid a Nov. 2 runoff election. Mizuno reports that the city has seen the incoming ballots distributed in a way that is reinforcing the current percentages. "Proportionately we haven't seen that much change," Mizuno said. She fu

The waiting game for the District 1 City Council race continues. The Sacramento County elections office released new vote tallies Friday afternoon, and has counted about 35,000 of the roughly 86,000 that remained after Election Day. However, the new ballots still don’t definitively show whether Natomas activist Angelique Ashby has won the District 1 seat, or if she will compete in a runoff in November with incumbent City Councilman Ray Tretheway. The county elections staff still needs to count more than 51,000 ballots. Voters cast ballots for many state and local candidates Tuesday, so it’s unknown how many of the 51,000 ballots include votes for the City Council races. With 5,405 votes

There will likely be a runoff between two District 5 candidates with backgrounds in the education field, according to Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno. With all precincts counted, education policy consultant Jay Schenirer was narrowly ahead of local school board member and attorney Patrick Kennedy. Schenirer had 47 percent of the vote to Kennedy’s 34 percent. Schenirer, with 2,267 votes, doesn’t have a majority of the votes that were cast, Mizuno said. Kennedy’s vote count is 1,654. District 5 includes the neighborhoods of Oak Park and Curtis Park. The election results have not yet been certified, Brad Buyse, the county’s campaign services manager said. More than 20,000 vote-by-m

The hotly debated District 1 Sacramento City Council race could wind up in a runoff, Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno said Wednesday morning. With all precincts counted, Natomas neighborhood activist Angelique Ashby had just under 51 percent of the vote. Incumbent City Councilman Ray Tretheway followed with 41.5 percent of the votes cast. Mizuno said she would be hesitant to say that Ashby holds a clear majority. The city will need “to wait and see what the final results are,” according to Mizuno. Ashby had 4,310 votes, while Tretheway’s count was 3,513. One of many controversies in the District 1 race involved a youtube video that showed Corin Choppin of Tretheway’s campaign remo

Sacramento City Councilman Steve Cohn has prevailed over realtor Chris Little, his toughest challenger. Cohn, who has held his District 3 seat since 1994, took just under 54 percent of the vote with all precincts counted. Realtor Chris Little followed Cohn with nearly 38 percent. Cohn, who is a top attorney at the Sacramento Municipal Utilities District, garnered 4,792 votes. Little received 3,351. Election results have not yet been certified, said Brad Buyse, the county’s campaign services manager. More than 20,000 vote-by-mail ballots came in Tuesday, Buyse said Wednesday morning, and they are still in envelopes. It was unclear how many, if any, of those vote-by-mail ballots would a

Sacramento City Councilman Robbie Waters has lost the District 7 seat he has held since 1994. Sacramento County’s election website showed that Waters, with 1,935 votes, follows two challengers in the polls. District 7 candidates Ryan Chin and Darrell Fong are expected to compete in a runoff, Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno said Wednesday morning. District 7 includes the neighborhoods of Greenhaven / Pocket and Valley-Hi. With all precincts reporting, Chin has 38 percent of the vote. Fong is chasing Chin with 31 percent of the vote. The two candidates are separated by a few hundred votes: Chin has 2,712, while Fong has 2,215. While Mizuno cautioned that the results are semi-offici

A flood of money from interest groups is being used to support City Council candidate Angelique Ashby. A committee that is separate from Ashby’s campaign contributed about $36,000 for mailers that advocate for her candidacy, according to election statements. That amount legally surpasses the contribution totals that citizens and most groups can make to candidate’s campaigns, according to Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno. The sum comes from a group with a lengthy name: Independent Expenditure Committee for Jobs and Prosperity / Sponsored by Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee. Ashby is running for the District 1 City Council seat against incumbent

Jay Schenirer’s City Council campaign has brought him face-to-face with Sacramento’s unemployed population. Joblessness in District 5, which includes Oak Park and Colonial Heights, is “horrific,” Schenirer said. The Sacramento Press is interviewing City Council candidates in advance of the June 8 election. Schenirer (sha-NEER-ur), 53, is competing against four other candidates for Councilwoman Lauren Hammond’s seat. Hammond is running for Assemblyman Dave Jones' seat against Kevin McCarty, her colleague on the City Council. Roger Dickinson, a Sacramento County Supervisor, is also running for the seat. Schenirer is an education policy consultant who has lived in Sacramento since 1981. H

Terrence Johnson said he wants Oak Park and surrounding South Sacramento neighborhoods to have more clout in City Council decision-making. “I felt as though the (District 5) neighborhoods didn’t have a voice,” he said. Johnson, 58, is one of five candidates competing for the seat held by Councilwoman Lauren Hammond. In addition to Oak Park, District 5 includes the neighborhoods of Curtis Park, Colonial Heights and Tahoe Park West. The Sacramento Press is interviewing City Council candidates in advance of the June 8 election. Johnson is a 20-year Sacramento resident and the executive director of the Oak Park Business Association and the Stockton Boulevard Partnership. He is chairman of

For the past six years, $300,000 in city funds has remained untouched. The city currently has that amount in its public financing pot for City Council and mayoral candidates to use in their campaigns, according to Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno. But Rick Bettis, an active member of the Sacramento County League of Women Voters, said he thinks that many people don’t know the city’s public financing money exists. “It doesn’t really jump out at you,” Bettis said. Since the public fund was set up in 2003, only one candidate has used the money, according to Mizuno. In 2004, Craig DeLuz, a City Council candidate in District 2, used about $17,000 in public campaign funds, Mizuno said. I

Campaign contributions to City Council candidates are not a secret. Citizens can access information about contributions online at the city of Sacramento’s Electronic Filing System. The city has published campaign contributions online since 2002, said Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno. In a Nov. 5 story, The Sacramento Press provided a guide to the city’s online system. Since then, the city clerk’s office has changed its website. “The navigation is a little bit different,” Mizuno said. To help the public understand the changes, The Sacramento Press is publishing the following updated guide to the online system. The city clerk’s website now has two separate links that connect you to