Kevin McCarty

Kevin Michael McCarty (born January 6, 1972) is an American politician who is the 57th and incumbent mayor of Sacramento, serving since 2024. He was elected in 2024, defeating epidemiologist Flojaune Cofer by a margin of 1.4% in the runoff election.

A member of the Democratic Party, McCarty previously served on the Sacramento City Council from 2004 to 2014, where he represented the 6th district. McCarty served in the California State Assembly from 2014 to 2024, representing the 6th District, which encompasses a portion of the Sacramento metropolitan area and most of the city of Sacramento. During his time in the Assembly, McCarty was a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus.

Early life, education, and early career McCarty was born in Washington D.C., the son of Barbara and Eliot McCarty. His mother is white and his father was African-American. His father was a civil rights attorney and a U.S. Foreign Service Officer in Mexico City and London. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science from California State University, Long Beach and a master's degree in public policy and administration from California State University, Sacramento. McCarty worked as Policy Director to former California Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante, and as an Assembly Budget Committee consultant to then-Assemblywoman Denise Moreno Ducheny. He also worked as a Commissioner at the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency.

Political career

McCarty was first elected to represent District 6 on the Sacramento City Council in 2004. He ran unopposed in 2008 and won re-election in 2012. He voted against a $257 million subsidy to develop the Golden 1 Center and the Downtown Commons, a downtown entertainment and sports complex for the Sacramento Kings. Alongside fellow City Council member Rob Fong, McCarty led the effort to designate a 2-mile section of Stockton Boulevard as Sacramento's "Little Saigon" and received praise from members of the Sacramento Vietnamese community.

State Assembly In the 2010 California State Assembly elections, McCarty ran in the Democratic primary for the 9th District, where he came in second place with 34.62% of the vote.

In the 2014 State Assembly elections, McCarty ran for the 7th District while incumbent Roger Dickinson sought election to the California State Senate. McCarty defeated fellow Sacramento City Council member Steve Cohn in the general election. He subsequently won re-election in 2016, 2018, and 2020. As a result of the 2020 United States Census, McCarty was redistricted into the 6th District, where he was re-elected in the 2022 election.

During his time in the State Assembly, McCarty authored over 90 measures that eventually became law, including the Universal Preschool Act, the American River Parkway Conservancy Act, and legislation requiring prosecutors to investigate police officer-involved shootings which resulted in the death of an unarmed civilian. As Chair of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance, McCarty took credit for improving career technical education programs and increased student enrollment at public colleges and universities. McCarty subsequently declared his candidacy for the position, with a focus on homelessness, housing affordability, the economy, and safety. In the March 2024 primary, He came in second place with 21.8% of the vote and advanced to the general election against epidemiologist Flojaune Cofer. McCarty won the November general election with 96,433 votes to Cofer's 94,495, a margin of 1,938 votes.

Tenure McCarty was officially sworn in on December 10, 2024, succeeding Darrell Steinberg. He is the city's second mayor of African American descent, after Kevin Johnson.

As mayor, McCarty announced a six-point plan to address issues of homelessness. Among his proposals, McCarty announced plans to build safe camping sites for unhoused people in the River District, constructing micro-communities at designed sites in the city, and providing grants to faith-based and non-profit organizations to build tiny homes. Kaplan won re-election with 52.7% of the vote.

To encourage housing production, McCarty announced "Streamline Sacramento," a program designed to encourage housing construction. The initiative announced 25 improvements to the city's permitting process, including an increase in the business hours of the city's public counter to answer residents questions about permitting, a small business liaison program to support business owners working on building permits or tenant improvements, and the ability for residents and businesses to complete minor permits and inspections online.

McCarty formally campaigned for Major League Baseball to open an expansion team in Sacramento.

Personal life McCarty currently resides in Sacramento and has two daughters. He is Catholic. He is fond of the American River Parkway, often walking along the corridor and paddle boarding on the American River.

Electoral history