Confidence appears high for Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen’s reelection bid
As she seeks her second term, Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen appears to be leaving very little to chance, but nonetheless, there is one indicator of her confidence she will cruise into office for another term.
Notwithstanding an error-riddled letter sent to voters on Labor Day weekend, Singh-Allen is leaving nothing to chance as she ramps-up campaign activity. Along with reelection signs appearing throughout the city, Madame Mayor has a higher than already substantial public profile.
Additionally, she has started online advertising promoting her candidacy. So don’t be surprised to see some TV commercials on Comcast local cable in the coming weeks.
Singh-Allen is facing only one opponent, Brian Pastor. Pastor, a 2020 Elk Grove mayoral candidate, has placed a few campaign signs but has not reported any fundraising.
Maybe Singh-Allen is reminded of Sacramento County Sheriff-elect Jim Cooper’s Elk Grove City Council reelection campaign in 2008 against LaWanna Montgomery. Even though she had no campaign funds to speak of and was not well informed on city government functions, Montgomery captured about 40 percent of the vote by all indications because she was the sole alternate to Cooper.
The lesson was clear – even though Cooper was well known, even a cash-strapped opponent can capture a significant number of votes by just being on the ballot. Cooper was lackadaisical, so if Montgomery had a better-organized campaign, who is to say she might not have prevailed?
And maybe, this lesson is not lost on Singh-Allen. Pastor lacks funds and name recognition but could still capture many votes.
Aside from this, there is one curious aspect to Singh-Allen’s campaign. That would be Singh-Allen’s list of issues on her campaign website.
For reference, in her 2020 campaign, Singh-Allen ran on what she was her main opponent’s lack of character and, more significantly, a promise to solve the one irritant of every Elk Grove motorist, traffic congestion. Singh-Allen promised her five-point traffic relief plan would resolve congestion.
Of course, the Mayor’s plan is gathering dust, and congestion persists. A visit to the Mayor’s issues page on her campaign site verifies this.
On the issues page, Singh-Allen lists Public Safety, addressing homelessness, improved transportation, reduce traffic congestion, affordable housing, building a strong & vibrant community, and attracting and retaining local businesses. Notably, each of the seven issues is not linked to a page explaining the Mayor’s solutions, nor is there even a single sentence solution to each issue.
This lack of solutions, ever bullet points, could reflect Singh-Allen’s confidence in her reelection. Does a local elected official seeking another term even need to address issues?
Probably not.
Local elections in places like Elk Grove that are void of pressing issues facing older and larger cities are not decided by an elected official or challenger’s ability to address issues but are beauty pageants. It is not unlike high school student government elections, where all that matters is popularity.
Hence people like the Mayor need to be popular through visibility. As for issues, as Singh-Allen has demonstrated on her website, it’s best to avoid them.
Even though Singh-Allen will win reelection this year and could for more terms, Pride, one of the Seven Deadly Sins, could become so prevalent it could develop into a liability leading to hubris.
This dismissal of issues by the Madame Mayor is one big step in that direction.
