It wasn’t a victory speech that let Sacramento know Steve Hansen was the top vote-getter in the race for City Council District 4, it was a victory tweet – but what would you expect from a candidate whose campaign was propelled to success on a digital platform in a new-media world? "We're done...for now. thank you," he tweeted. Hansen finished the primary election Tuesday with 2,317 votes – 28.5 percent of the total. He will have his work cut out for him in the runoff however, as he finished just 86 votes ahead of architect and political veteran Joe Yee who had 2,231 votes (27.5 percent).  Phyllis Newton, meanwhile, received 1,798 (22.19 percent) and Terry Schanz  finished with 1,213 vot

On election day in Sacramento, candidates in the running for City Council seats are staying focused on the polls and counting votes. After months of campaigning, interviews, candidate forums and meet-and-greets, where do the candidates for District 4 stand now as voters start lining up to the polls? David Turturici – The estate planning attorney from South Land Park said early in the race that he was running because he opposed – vehemently – Mayor Kevin Johnson’s arena plan. When the arena deal flatlined, Turturici’s campaign lost its basis, and Turturici lost steam. He didn’t lose his humor about it, however. When asked if he was going to suspend his campaign in May after blowing off a c

A new kind of tension may be ahead for Sacramento politics as two strong neighborhoods with vibrant histories are finally united into a single City Council district and, when the election dust settles, one council member will represent them both. In Land Park, the streets are wide and quiet, the zoo and lush William Land Park have welcomed families for generations, and residents want a bridge to West Sacramento built farther up the river to keep the traffic out and preserve the peace and quiet of their neighborhood. In Midtown, an eclectic mix of trendy restaurants and bars, art galleries, coffee houses and other small mom-and-pop businesses have helped attract a growing population of yo

The candidates from all of the City Council district races, the mayoral race and two Board of Supervisors races will face off Saturday at a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters. One notable exception: Mayor Kevin Johnson is not scheduled to appear. According to Johnson’s campaign manager, Steve Maviglio, Johnson has “no need” to attend. “Given the large number of events the mayor has attended over the past year, and since none of his opponents are waging a real campaign against him, he chose not to participate in this event,” Maviglio said Friday. The news of Johnson’s planned absence came as no surprise to mayoral candidate Jonathan Rewers. “He’s not even campaigning,” Rewers s

What started as an artist-centered event to draw attention to the work of local artists has evolved into something much different, but District 4 candidates still want to make sure the Second Saturday Art Walk reaches its full potential as a destination event. “It’s become segmented,” candidate Phyllis Newton said Monday. “There are essentially two Second Saturdays – a family-oriented one in the early evening, and then, toward the later hours, it draws a different crowd.” On the second Saturday of every month, local art galleries, restaurants and other small businesses open their doors to thousands of visitors who come for art exhibits, music, food and wine for the Second Saturday Art Wa

Six of the seven candidates for council District 4 discussed the role of business and the value of art to the central city at a forum hosted by four business organizations Monday. The candidates – Steve Hansen, Phyllis Newton, Joe Yee, Michael Rehm, Terry Schanz and Neil Davidson – took the stage at the Cosmopolitan Cabaret Theatre on K Street Monday to answer a slew of questions about issues facing Sacramento’s recently reshaped District 4. Wendy Hoyt, local businesswoman and former president of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, moderated the forum. Hoyt noted that the central city is made up of variety of businesses and asked how the candidates would handle potential conflicts betw

City Council District 4 candidates will discuss business, neighborhood issues and the value of the arts at a forum hosted by four central city organizations on Monday. Moderator Wendy Hoyt, former president of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, will moderate the forum on behalf of the DSP and the other co-hosting organizations: the Greater Broadway Partnership, Old Sacramento Business Association and Midtown Business Association. “There will be no arena questions, I can tell you that,” Kevin Greene, policy manager for DSP, said Monday. “This forum will be different than the others. ” District 4 candidates participated in two previous forums where the proposed entertainment and sports

With the arena deal off the table, the focus of the most recent District 4 candidate forum shifted to a variety of non-arena issues, including curbing urban sprawl and how to handle homelessness in the central city. Five of the seven candidates vying for Rob Fong’s District 4 City Council seat met at the Ethel Hart Senior Center in Midtown for Monday’s forum hosted by the Neighborhood Advisory Group. This was the third opportunity that candidates Phyllis Newton, Steve Hansen, Terry Schanz, Joe Yee and David Turturici have participated in since joining the race for the council seat. At the previous forums, discussion topics typically centered on the proposed entertainment and sports comp

Neil Davidson said he starting wondering why so few people get involved in city government, so he’s leading the way by getting involved himself – by running for the City Council. Davidson, 35, joins a large field of candidates running for the City Council District 4 seat. A computer programmer by trade, Davidson said his penchant for wringing out answers from complex problems sets him apart from other candidates. “I really dig into information and data,” Davidson said Thursday. “I like to find ways to solve problems and make things work from the standpoint of number crunching.” Davidson said that, as a member of the City Council, he would want to focus on the financial aspects of city

Local attorney Michael Rehm said he is running for the District 4 City Council seat because he sees it as an opportunity to make a difference in the city that his family has called home for nearly 100 years. “I’ve worked extremely hard to get to this point, and I don’t take anything I’ve been blessed with for granted,” Rehm said Friday. “I think I can help a lot of people – not just in District 4, but in the whole city.” Rehm, 33, grew up in Land Park as a third-generation Sacramentan. He has been a practicing attorney in both California and New York since passing both state bar exams in 2006, and he now has a private legal practice in Land Park. Rehm said his courtroom experience has g

All seven official District 4 City Council candidates came together Wednesday to discuss issues that impact Sacramento its neighborhoods, including the arena, new bridges and bike lanes on Freeport Boulevard. Nearly 100 people attended the candidate forum hosted by the Land Park Community Association at California Middle School – including Sacramento City Unified School District Board Member Patrick Kennedy and former Sacramento Mayor Anne Rudin. One of the larger issues discussed was the proposed entertainment and sports complex. “We don’t know that it’s a bad deal yet. We don’t know that it’s a good deal yet – it’s uncertain,” candidate Phyllis Newton said. “I believe that a rising t