Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg announced Thursday that he will not run for a third term in 2024.
Although Steinberg said he is stepping down to focus on his personal life, he also revealed he has ambitions for statewide office. Steinberg will consider a bid for attorney general in 2026 if Rob Bonta runs for governor.
“This ain’t no epitaph,” the mayor quipped.
“There is a season for everything in life. It’s now the season for me to do other things that hopefully will help people because that’s what this is about, and that’s what this is always about.”
Steinberg was elected mayor in 2016 after serving ten years in the State Senate. He had previously served in the Assembly and as a member of the Sacramento City Council.
His tenure as mayor saw multiple challenges, from the 2018 fatal police shooting of Stephon Clark to the COVID-19 pandemic and and the city’s growing homeless population. Steinberg has also had to grapple with rising political turmoil and extremism, including attacks on local officials and disruptions to city council meetings.
“Aside from the bigots, who to me don’t count, aside from the bigots, there are strongly held points of view in this community about the direction of this community, the issues we take up week after week, and what the city should or should not be doing better," added Steinberg. "With the exception of a few who hate, we are friends. Those in the community who have different points of view on the city’s future, you are our friends too. We must try harder to be kinder to each other and listen to each other."
Assemblyman Kevin McCarty said Thursday that he plans to run for mayor.
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With Steinberg not running, what will Sacramento's mayoral race look like?