What does Prop. 36 organizers $1.5 million donation to Republicans say about Elk Grove's Democratic Mayor Singh-Allen, Councilmen Brewer, Robles & Suen?
But what happens when someone switches parties, or worse, declares they are of one political party but practices the philosophy of the other party?
In theory, Elk Grove's five-member city council is dominated by a supermajority of Democratic Party members. Those Democrats include Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen and councilmen Rod Brewer, Sergio Robles, and Darren Suen.
But how strong are those Democratic credentials, especially for Singh-Allen? Longtime Elk Grove political observers recall that Singh-Allen was a Republican before it became politically expedient to switch parties.
Of course, switching parties for political expediency is not that rare. But what happens when someone switches parties, or worse, declares they are of one political party but practices the philosophy of the other party?
Such is the case for the city of Elk Grove's so-called Democratic supermajority mayor and city council. Singh Allen, Brewer, Robles, and Suen's support of Proposition 36 best illustrates this.
Singh-Allen is an organizer with the group Common Sense on Safety, which supports the Yes on 36 campaign. The Yes campaign leads in polls and would reverse the criminal justice reforms of the 2014 voter-approved Proposition 47.
A few high-visibility Californian politicians, like San Francisco and San Jose mayors London Breed and Matt Mahan, support Yes on 36. However, no statewide officeholder, all Democrats, supports the measure. Furthermore, no Democratic State Senate or Assembly member supports the bill.
The supposed Democratic elected officials supporting Yes on 36 are backwater politicians like Singh-Allen, Brewer, Robles, and Suen.
And here is an interesting fact about the main Yes on 36 committee, Californians for Safer Communities. In the last couple of weeks, they have made three donations totaling $1.5 to one entity. The entity benefiting from Californians for Safer Communities' generosity has been the California Republican Party.
Interestingly, Singh-Allen's Common Sense on Safety committee received $55,145 from Nathan Hochman for Los Angeles County District Attorney. Hochman ran as a Republican against Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta in 2022 and, like Singh-Allen, switched parties and became an independent for his current campaign.
So, while the Yes on 36 proponents claim to be bipartisan, these groups are, if we gauge their allegiance by who they support and who supports them, a Republican operation. If you are a Democratic voter, it's important not to be misled by Singh-Allen and her three councilmen - this is a Republican measure trying to pass itself off as having bipartisan support.
For Elk Grove voters who want to support Democratic candidates, think twice before you vote for Singh-Allen this year or Brewer, Robles, and Suen in 2026. Their support of Yes on 36 shows that these four supposed Democratic officials align more closely with Republican values.
