The return of Steinberg - Sacramento News & Review

Sacramento News & Review - The return of Steinberg - Feature Story - Local Stories - January 28, 2016:
The return of Steinberg
Respect, money, vision, likability—Darrell Steinberg’s candidacy has it all. But is the former state Senate pro tem really a lock to become Sacramento’s next mayor?

Darrell Steinberg darts across a quiet Tahoe Park street toward a woman standing in her doorway. “You’ve got my vote, Darrell, I just wanted to say hi,” she yells from her porch. “Can I get a lawn sign, too?” he asks, deferentially, like a kid wanting a cookie. She obliges. “Count it!” he shouts to his canvassing sidekick, a law student from his alma mater, UC Davis. It’s an overcast weekend morning in January before noon—and some six months until Sacramento’s primary election. Yet here’s Steinberg, the antithesis of Jeb Bush energy, already hustling for votes. A man in his late 40s thanks Steinberg for stopping by, for his time. “I know you’re famous,” the man says.

“I don’t know about that,” Steinberg replies. “I call it minicelebrity—with an emphasis on mini.”

Clearly Steinberg isn’t taking the mayor’s race for granted. When he’s not banging on doors each weekend, he’s meeting neighbors at coffeehouses or holding court at the farmers market. He seems to genuinely want to lead Sacramento. And experts say the mayor gig is Steinberg’s for the taking.

“It’s his to lose,” said local political strategist Steven Maviglio, who guided Mayor Kevin Johnson’s 2008 campaign. “He’s got money, he’s got message and he’s got name ID. Those are the three ingredients to success.”

He said the 56-year-old former state Senate leader is known around town as Mr. Nice Guy. “Darrell Steinberg doesn’t make enemies. That’s the key to his strength.”

But what’s that saying about nice guys finishing last? Local consultant Matt Rexroad attended the recent debate between Councilwoman Angelique Ashby and Steinberg earlier this month at the Crocker Art Museum. Afterward, Rexroad said he’s “not convinced that the average voter would have said [Steinberg] was the frontrunner.” He described Ashby as folksy and real, and says in contrast Steinberg came across as political royalty.

Esteem, money, vision—is Steinberg simply too qualified to be top boss of weak-mayor Sacramento?

The politician

Steinberg sits at a high table in the back of an East Sacramento coffeehouse. It's a few days before Christmas, a suit-but-not-tie day, and he's sipping a cappuccino. He refers to his accomplishment at the Capitol affectionately, like one might about one’s children—his “work,” as he calls bills passed and initiatives championed. It’s true that his was not the quotidian, boilerplate, here-you-go-constituents Sacramento News & Review - The return of Steinberg - Feature Story - Local Stories - January 28, 2016: