Marcos Breton: Angelique Ashby to run for mayor of Sacramento
Angelique Ashby, the only woman on the City Council, will announce Wednesday that she is running for mayor of Sacramento.
Ashby’s announcement comes as Mayor Kevin Johnson told The Sacramento Bee that he will not seek a record third term in office.
“Ultimately, it’s up to Sacramento to choose who its next leader will be,” Ashby said Tuesday afternoon. “The choice I’m making is I’m asking them to consider me.”
Ashby, 40, made her decision on Tuesday – the same day Johnson decided to step aside.
“She is brave enough to say, ‘I’ve been waiting, nobody else is saying anything, I want to be mayor,’ ” said Brian Rice, president of Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522. “I have to respect that.”
Rice and his fellow firefighter union members respect Ashby and her decision so much they will announce Wednesday that they are endorsing her. Ashby plans to introduce herself to city voters at large during an 11 a.m news conference at Local 522 headquarters on Folsom Boulevard.
“It’s kind of a rough spot; we like the current mayor too,” Rice said. “But (Ashby) represents a new face of Sacramento.”
Rice acknowledged that the firefighters have been close to Johnson in recent years. The move by the union to endorse Ashby – and Ashby’s move away from Johnson – signals a coming change in city politics, Rice said.
“It’s going to be interesting to say the least,” Rice said.
Until now, Ashby had been solidly in Johnson’s corner and a reliable ally on the City Council. With Ashby on his side, Johnson has enjoyed a majority of many key votes attained with other allies such as Allen Warren, Jay Schenirer and Rick Jennings.
Ashby’s move, coupled with Johnson’s exit, changes the calculus of city politics. Warren, another close Johnson ally, has been under fire all summer stemming from allegations he sexually harassed an employee. The city still is investigating that case.
In addition, Johnson has found himself the focus of media scrutiny as decades-old sexual misconduct allegations recently have resurfaced. Johnson long has denied the allegations by Amanda Koba that he molested her when she was a teenager, and authorities who investigated the claims did not pursue charges. The Sacramento Bee previously reported that Johnson and Koba signed a draft settlement agreement for $230,000 in 1997.
Rice said he thinks it’s time that Sacramento changed course.
“The Kings are secured. The downtown railyards are secured,” he said. “A person has aMarcos Breton: Angelique Ashby to run for mayor of Sacramento | The Sacramento Bee: