Runner-up mayoral candidate Flojaune Cofer created a stir last week when she suggested that the influence of political money in Sacramento had gone too far.
She stood before the new City Council and alleged that two political donors wanted her to support an extension of City Manager Howard Chan’s soon-to-expire contract. She said that rather than subtly implying that her support would generate a campaign contribution, they made a “blatant offer.”
Cofer used strong words, such as “crimes,” to describe her experience with the campaign donors. To be clear, we don’t know if what Cofer alleges is criminal. We do know that as she spoke to the council and a crowded City Hall chamber, one of her legs was shaking, “because it is difficult to speak truth to power.” And we are trying to understand the relationships these two donors have with the city and the candidates, both Cofer and Sacramento’s new mayor, Kevin McCarty.
We also know that Sacramento developer Paul Petrovich has volunteered that he is one of the two donors that Cofer was referring to, based on a letter he sent to the full City Council on the day of its vote on Chan, completely rejecting Cofer’s allegation.