Enjoy the accolades while you can; AG fair housing lawsuit could become an albatross around Singh-Allen’s neck

Elk Grove mayor, city council claim they were praised

When making their reports at the end of the April 26 city council meeting, Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen and three of her four councilmen provided information on their just-completed Cap to Cap lobbying trip to Washington, D. C.

Aside from offering sketchy information about what they accomplished on their taxpayer-paid junket, there was one thing they did elaborate on. That was the accolades they claimed other junket participants ladled on them.

As you can see in the video, Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen and two of her four councilmen claimed others heaped praise on the city and its governance.

Enjoy the lauding – real or imaginary – while you can because, with the attorney general’s lawsuit against the city, the politics could get messy for the four Democratic representatives – Singh-Allen and Councilmen Rod Brewer, Sergio Robles, and Darren Suen.

The most to lose is Singh-Allen.

Reliable sources tell us Singh-Allen is exploring a run for Congress should Rep. Doris Matsui decide against reelection in the next few terms. While stopping the housing of the homeless in Elk Grove might play well with white Republican voters in the city’s District 2, it will not play well with liberal Democratic voters who dominate primaries, not to mention various advocacy groups and financiers who play crucial roles.

And let’s remember the other side of the lawsuit equation, Attorney General Rob Bonta. AG doesn’t stand for attorney general – it also means Aspiring Governors.

If you have any doubt, remember Dan Lungren was attorney general before unsuccessfully running for California governor. More recently, Texas Republican Governor Gregg Abbott was his state’s attorney general before his ascent.

The ultimate state AG was Bill Clinton.

Newsom’s term is up in 2026, so Bonta could be considered an aspirant to be the next governor. Using Elk Grove and Huntington Beach as sacrificial lambs in the fight to solve homelessness will work well with big-money donors and engaged Democratic primary voters.

Building Democratic alliances with the albatross of a fair housing lawsuit laden on her neck will be tricky for Singh-Allen if, as expected, she runs for Congress. Fight the lawsuit, and regardless of the outcome, Singh-Allen will be painted as an exclusionary politician unsympathetic to the homeless and unwilling to make tough choices.

There is one solution for Singh-Allen that could push these political considerations aside, and that is to switch parties and make an appeal to another group of voters. Never forget that Singh-Allen started her political career as a Republican.