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Sacramento County District Attorney election, 2018
2020 →
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| 2018 Sacramento County elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: March 9, 2018 |
| Primary election: June 5, 2018 General election: November 6, 2018 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: County board of supervisors, County board of education, County assessor, County sheriff, District attorney, Superior court judges |
| Total seats up: 29 |
| Election type: Nonpartisan |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2018 |
Incumbent Anne Marie Schubert defeated homicide prosecutor Noah Phillips in the nonpartisan primary for district attorney in Sacramento County, California. In the wake of several law enforcement incidents, the election centered on accountability and how fatal law enforcement incidents in the county had been handled.[1]
Outside groups and activists became more involved in the race after Schubert received $13,000 from the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) and Sacramento County Alliance of Law Enforcement less than a week after Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man, was killed by Sacramento police officers.[2]
Cat Brooks, the executive director of the Justice Teams Network, said the contribution reflected that district attorneys were "beholden to law enforcement unions." Tanya Faison, a founding member of the Sacramento chapter of Black Lives Matter, and other local activists also called on Schubert to press charges against the police officers involved in the shooting.[2]
A CSLEA spokeswoman said in a statement, "There was no timing involved. We’ve been for [Schubert] from the very beginning. It’s unfortunate that the check had to happen at that time."[2]
Phillips highlighted this issue in his campaign. He pledged to "hold law enforcement transparent, which my opponent does not believe," and said that he would reopen the 2016 police shooting of Joseph Mann. Real Justice PAC endorsed Phillips and began to invest money in his campaign in March 2018.[3]
Phillips received more than $1 million in contributions, out-raising Schubert's $800,000. The arrest of a suspect in the East Area Rapist cold case and the release of an inappropriate work email from Phillips shifted momentum in the race in May, according to The Sacramento Bee.[4]
Schubert won the seat outright in the nonpartisan primary because she and Phillips were the only two candidates listed on the ballot. California does provide for write-in candidates, however. Between April 9 and May 22, 2018, a candidate could have filed to have his or her name counted on ballots as a write-in candidate.[3][5]
Candidates
Annie Marie Schubert
Schubert was first elected Sacramento County District Attorney in 2014 with more than two decades of law enforcement experience. As a county prosecutor, she formed Cold Case Prosecution and become a nationally recognized expert on forensic DNA. Schubert also founded the Community and Government Relations Division, which combines community relations and legislative advocacy solutions to enhance public safety.[6]
She emphasized sentencing reform and prevention in an interview. “The prevention aspect of it, whether it’s gun control or anything else is making sure that we as a DA’s office get out in the community, build good relationships, educate our youth, talk about whatever it is,” she said.[7]
Noah Phillips
Phillips' professional experience includes working as the supervising attorney of the District Attorney’s Domestic Violence, Human Trafficking, Elder Abuse units and as the principal criminal attorney for the Major Crimes Division in Sacramento.[8]
Phillips said of his prosecutorial perspective, "Every organization has priorities and when we’re talking about preventing crime, whether it be crimes against children, domestic violence assaults or elder abuse—those would be my priorities. Quite frankly, those are all areas that appear to need immediate problem-solving. Those are all emergencies from my perspective.”[9]
Election results
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Sacramento County District Attorney
Incumbent Anne Marie Schubert won election outright against Noah Phillips in the primary for Sacramento County District Attorney on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Anne Marie Schubert (Nonpartisan) | 62.6 | 174,957 |
 | Noah Phillips (Nonpartisan) | 37.4 | 104,596 | |
| Total votes: 279,553 | |||
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Endorsements
The following endorsements were compiled from the candidates' websites on April 9, 2018.
Noah Phillips[10]
- Black Young Democrats of Sacramento County
- Democracy for America
- FemDems of Sacramento
- Latino Democratic Club
- Sacramento Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO
- Sacramento State College Democrats
- Stonewall Democratic Club of Greater Sacramento
- Wellstone Progressive Democrats of Sacramento
- Fiona Ma, California Board of Equalization
- Robbie Abelon – President, Sacramento County Young Democrats
- Aref Aziz – Training Director, Organize Win Legislate Sacramento
- Liah Burnley – President, Organize Win Legislate Sacramento
- Zima Creason – President & CEO, Mental Health America – California (Board Member, San Juan Unified School District)
- Thomas Del Torre – Officer, San Francisco Police Department (ret.)
- David English – Deputy, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department (ret.)
- Jay Hansen – Board Member, Sacramento Community Unified School District
- Richard Ilharreguy – Deputy District Attorney Sacramento County
- Steven Meinrath – Counsel, California Senate Public Safety Committee (ret.)
- Chris Parker – Tax Attorney
- John Renwick – Criminal Law Attorney
- Jay Richter – First Vice President, Kidder Mathews
- Mike Sharif – Political Director, California Young Democrats
- Ronald Tochterman – Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department (ret.)
- Alex Traverso – Chief of Communications, California Bureau of Cannabis Control
- Keith Umemoto – Member, Democratic National Committee
- Julie Vera – Attorney at Law
- Hugo Vera – Attorney at Law
- Jeremy Wilson – Mental Health Advocate
- Joshua White – Member, Black Young Democrats
Anne Marie Schubert[11]
Public Safety
- Citizens For Law and Order
- Scott Jones, Sacramento County Sheriff
- Hal Barker, Folsom Chief of Police (Retired)
- Ron Lawrence, Citrus Heights Police Chief
- Sacramento County Chiefs and Sheriff Group
- John McGinness, Sacramento County Sheriff, Retired
- Lou Blanas, Sacramento County Sheriff, Retired
- Rick Braziel, Sacramento Chief of Police, Retired
- Joe Farrow, CHP Commissioner, Retired
- Maury Hannigan, CHP Commissioner, Retired
- Spike Helmick, CHP Commissioner, Retired
- Sacramento County District Attorneys Association
- Sacramento Deputy Sheriffs Association
- Sacramento Police Officers Association
- Elk Grove Police Officers Association
- Folsom Police Officers Association
- Law Enforcement Managers Association
- Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522
- California Statewide Law Enforcement Association FOP Lodge #77
- Asian American Prosecutors Association
District Attorneys
- Jan Scully, Sacramento District Attorney, Retired
- Jeff Reisig, Yolo County District Attorney
- Krishna Abrams, Solano County District Attorney
- Vern Pierson, El Dorado County District Attorney
- Scott Owens, Placer County District Attorney
- Lisa Green, Kern County District Attorney
Judges
- Superior Court Judge Hon. Gail Ohanesian, Retired
- Presiding Judge 3rd District Court Appeal Hon. Arthur Scotland, Retired
Victims’ Rights Groups and Individuals
- Crime Victims United
- Crime Victims Action Alliance
- Marc Klaas
Advocacy Groups
- Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce
- Folsom Chamber of Commerce
California State Legislature
- Senator Jim Nielsen
- Senator Cathleen Galgiani
- Senator Bill Dodd
- Assemblyman Jim Cooper
- Assemblyman Ken Cooley
Local Officials
- Sacramento Board of Supervisors
- Supervisor Susan Peters
- Supervisor Sue Frost
- Supervisor Patrick Kennedy
- Supervisor Phil Serna
- Supervisor Don Nottoli
- Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan, Retired
- Supervisor Jimmie Yee, Retired
Sacramento City Officials
- Mayor Darrell Steinberg
- Councilwoman Angelique Ashby
- Councilman Steven Hansen
- Councilman Eric Guerra
- Councilman Jeff Harris
- Councilman Rick Jennings
- Councilman Allen Warren
- Councilman Larry Carr
- Councilman Jay Schenirer
- Darrell Woo, Sacramento City Unified School Board
Citrus Heights City Officials
- Mayor Jeff Slowey
- Councilmember Jeannie Bruins
- Councilmember Steve Miller
Elk Grove City Officials
- Vice Mayor Steve Detrick
- Councilmember Darren Suen
- Councilmember Pat Hume
- Councilmember Stephanie Nguyen
Folsom City Officials
- Councilmember Kerri Howell
Campaign finance
Contributions in the race passed $1.2 million in May 2018, with both Phillips and Schubert benefiting from more than $640,000 in contributions each.
The Sacramento Bee compiled the following data on the top 10 contributors for each candidate on May 7, 2018:
Campaign strategy and tactics
Campaign mailers
The Phillips campaign released mailers in April 2018 accusing Schubert of not holding law enforcement accountable for the deaths of Joseph Mann and Stephon Clark. The mailer read, "It shouldn't be so hard to make the right decisions. It shouldn't be so hard to stand up to injustice. When a man is shot six times in the back while armed with only an iPhone, it shouldn't be so hard to say it's wrong and we need to take action. I will."[1]
Inappropriate work email
In May, The Sacramento Bee published an email exchange between Phillips and his uncle where Phillips called a message describing the sexual behavior of women by their ethnicity as "work appropriate and for that matter appropriate anywhere."[12]
Phillips accused the Schubert campaign of providing the emails to the press. He said, "Instead of debating the issues, my opponent is spending public resources building fences and combing through years of my old emails to try to find something she can use to embarrass me. In doing so, the current DA, my former boss, has inadvertently shed more light on why I decided to run in the first place."[12]
Phillips later tweeted, "Over two years ago, my 70-year-old uncle sent these emails. I should have challenged them. Instead, I am embarrassed to say, I didn't. I failed to change a narrative with a close relative because it was simply easier not to."[13]
About the county
- See also: Sacramento County, California
The county government of Sacramento County is located in Sacramento, California. The county was first established in 1850. It covers a total of 964.64 square miles in northern California.[14]As of 2010, its population was 1,418,788.
County government
Sacramento County is overseen by a five-member board of supervisors. Each supervisor is elected by district to a four-year term. Residents also elect a county assessor, district attorney, and county sheriff.
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for Sacramento County, California | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sacramento County | California | |
| Population | 1,418,788 | 37,253,956 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 965 | 155,857 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 57.3% | 59.7% |
| Black/African American | 9.8% | 5.8% |
| Asian | 15.7% | 14.5% |
| Native American | 0.7% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander | 1.1% | 0.4% |
| Other (single race) | 7.9% | 14% |
| Multiple | 7.5% | 4.9% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 23.2% | 39% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 87.7% | 83.3% |
| College graduation rate | 30.9% | 33.9% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $67,151 | $75,235 |
| Persons below poverty level | 14.7% | 13.4% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
See also
| Sacramento County, California | California | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Sacramento Bee, "Ad links D.A., Trump’s ‘yes man’ and Mann, Clark shootings," April 18, 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Bristol Herald Courier, "Sacramento DA gets $13,000 from police unions – and more protests – days after Stephon Clark’s death," April 6, 2018
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 NBC News, "Stephon Clark killing becomes test in Sacramento DA election," March 30, 2018
- ↑ The Sacramento Bee, "Sacramento DA Schubert declares victory, calls it 'a good day for the people,'" June 5, 2018
- ↑ Sacramento County Elections, "Election Guide," accessed May 9, 2018
- ↑ Schubert for DA, "About Anne Marie Schubert," accessed May 15, 2018
- ↑ Elk Grove Citizen, "Election ’18: DA Schubert seeks re-election," February 28, 2018
- ↑ Phillips for DA, "Qualifications," accessed May 15, 2018
- ↑ Sacramento Bee, "Deputy DA challenges incumbent District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert," September 19, 2017
- ↑ Phillips for DA, "Endorsements," accessed April 9, 2018
- ↑ Schubert for DA, "Endorsements," accessed April 9, 2018
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 The Sacramento Bee, "DA candidate Phillips called sexist, racist email 'work appropriate … appropriate anywhere,'" May 22, 2018
- ↑ The Sacramento Bee, "DA candidate Phillips 'embarrassed,' apologizes for response to sexist, racist email," May 23, 2018
- ↑ Sacramento County, California, "County History," accessed September 1, 2016
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