Powerful California Association of Realtors target 5th District Sacramento County Board of Supervisor’s candidate

Perhaps the most pointed mailer in the Sacramento area this election season, a prominent California political player has targeted former Elk Grove Mayor Steve Ly. Voters began receiving the mailer (seen below) today.

Unlike the other independent mailers sent for the 5th District race that offered positive attributes of candidates Jaclyn Moreno and Pat Hume, this piece puts Ly in a negative light. The mailer focuses on accusations Ly faced when he unsuccessfully ran for reelection for Elk Grove Mayor in 2020.

Ly, who Bobbie Singh-Allen defeated, was accused of politically bullying women candidates and elected officials. Reacting to the accusations, the Elk Grove City Council requested but was not granted an investigation by the Sacramento Grand Jury.

While the Sacramento Grand Jury never investigated the claims, the mailer has a cutline attributed to the Sacramento Bee that says, “The County Grand Jury is investigating Ly.” A search of the Bee’s site does not reveal a headline with that title.

Before this mailer, Ly has kept a relatively low profile, while Moreno and Hume have started aggressively campaigning to replace Don Nottoli, who will leave office later this year after 28 years of service.

While the mailer acknowledges it is not associated with any candidate, it is unclear which candidate this piece will benefit the most. Hume has a 15-plus year voting history as an Elk Grove City Councilmember of voting for real estate interests compared to Moreno, who has been a Director of the Cosumnes Community Services District since 2018.

Perhaps polling shows Ly is hurting Hume’s candidacy, so to bolster Hume’s chances, real estate interest decided Ly was a better target to politically wound. Besides, a real estate interest group attacking a women candidate might not pass muster with a large portion of the electorate and could increase Moreno’s stature at this point of the election.