Voices of Elk Grove: Elk Grove citizen to mayor, city council – ‘All of you represent all of us’

During the Wednesday, May 24, 2023, Elk Grove City Council meeting, the city’s mayor and council members were reminded of the city’s Code of Ethics.

The comments were made by long-time Elk Grove resident Suzanne Pecci. The statement was made in the context of a hearing that evening on the Pleasant Grove Estates housing development in the city’s rural Sheldon neighborhood.

That housing project was unanimously approved by the city council after several hours of hearings in city council and planning commission meetings, permitting the rezone of five-acre parcels to two acres. The project generated substantial controversy among District 2 rural Sheldon neighborhood residents.

During the course of that evening, through public comment and testimony from Mayor Singh-Allen and the city council members, all five council members met with residents and visited the project. The city also organized an informational town hall-style meeting was also conducted on the project.

In her comments, Pecci reminded the mayor and her city councilmen of the Code of Ethics that was adopted in 2005. She urged them to review the document.

Although she didn’t directly say it, Pecci implied there was little interest in the project and residents’ concerns from the mayor and council members.

“Even if it’s not your district, all of you represent all of us,” Pecci reminded the mayor and city council. See Peeci’s entire commentary below.

During the hearing, Vice Mayor Kevin Spease, who represents District 3, implied the time he and three of his city council colleague spent on the District 2 project was a waste of time and they did “not benefit from the project in the least bit.” Watch Spease’s commentary here.