Region Business sends independent mailer supporting Nguyen's Elk Grove City Council bid

October 23, 2018 |  

With exactly two weeks left until the close of voting, an Elk Grove City Council member seeking election was the benefit of an independent expenditure.

Today a mailer sent from Sacramento-based business advocacy group Region Business was distributed for the benefit of Council Member Stephanie Nguyen. Appointed to a city council vacancy in January 2017, Nguyen is seeking a full four-year term and is being challenged by Cosumnes Community Services District Director Orlando Fuentes.

The mailer features testimonials from Elk Grove Unified School District Trustee Nancy Chaires-Espinoza and local businesswoman Jan Detrick, who is also the wife of Nguyen's fellow council member Steve Detrick. With their respective backgrounds, Chaires-Espinoza and Detrick assert Nguyen's support of public schools and economic development. 

The mailer states it was paid for by the Region Builders Political Action Committee, which is affiliated with Region Business. As noted on the mailer and by law, independent expenditure committees cannot coordinate efforts with candidates. 

"We are proud to support Stephanie Nguyen for city council as well as the reelection of Pat Hume to the city council and the election of Darren Suen as mayor," Region Business executive director Joshua Wood said. "We believe these three have demonstrated the leadership it takes to guide Elk Grove into a prosperous future." 

Nguyen's opponent, Fuentes was not immediately available to comment on the expenditure. Although Fuentes has not been the recipient of independent expenditures, he and three other Elk Grove-based candidates for city council and the Cosumnes Community Services District have distributed several shared mailer under the moniker Team Elk Grove.  

As has become increasingly common with other mailers this election cycle, this one was mailed to a singular registered female voter at a residence that is home to three registered male voters. Also placed on a mailer was a starburst noting Nguyen is the "Only Woman on the City Council. 

According to the document filed with the Elk Grove City Clerk's office, the committee spent $13,000 on mailers and received donations totaling $54,350 leaving a balance of over $40,000. The committee has been funded by a variety of construction and real concerns as well as investor-owned utilities PG&E and American Water, Voorhees, New Jersey.  

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