Second person files papers for 2020 Elk Grove City Council District 3 race



A second potential candidate filed papers yesterday with the Elk Grove city clerk's office for the City Council District 3 race in 2020.

Kevin Spease filed a California 501 Form, Candidate Intention Statement for the District 3 seat. An Elk Grove planning commissioner since 2014, Spease previously ran for Elk Grove Mayor in 2016.

Although he filed the intention statement, Spease said he would make his final decision after gauging support. 

"I have opened a committee to explore potential candidacy. My decision will depend largely on community support," Spease said. "In the meanwhile, I'm just going to continue to do what I do every day; try to improve the business environment and collaborate with friends to make Elk Grove an awesome place for families."

In addition to serving on the planning commission, Spease is the current chairperson of the Elk Grove Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. Along with his wife Angela, Spease owns Elk Grove-based ISSE which along with being a U.S. Department of Defense contractor is described on the Elk Grove Chamber of Commerce's website as an "Information system security engineering, web application security, web application security testing, HIPAA." 

The current District 3 seatholder Steve Detrick has not announced if he will seek reelection in 2020. Although he has not announced, Detrick, who was first elected in 2008, with the 2020 election less than 15 months away, has not resumed fundraising activities as of his last campaign financial disclosure for the period ending June 30.

Regardless of Detrick's decision, earlier this year Maureen Craft declared her candidacy for the District 3 seat. Craft ran against Detrick in 2016.

Although the race for Elk Grove Mayor and city council is considered non-partisan, Craft is a member of the Democratic party and serves as the fundraising chair on the executive board of the Democratic Party of Sacramento County. Spease was associated with the Republican party in his previous campaign.  

Undoubtedly Elk Grove Mayor Steve Ly will be eyeing this contest given it could present an opportunity for his to gain an ally on the city council. None of the four current council members - Detrick, Pat Hume, Stephanie Nguyen, and Darren Suen are allied with Ly.

Although he had not yet indicated who he might support in 2020 city council races, Ly provided financial and logistic support to Orlando Fuentes and Andres' Ramos who unsuccessfully challenged Hume and Nguyen respectively in 2018. In both of those races, Ramos and Fuentes launched their campaigns at relatively later dates in the election cycle compared to Craft and Spease.

Copyright by Elk Grove News © 2019. All right reserved.










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5 comments

Eye on Elk Grove said...

Kevin Spease is “exploring” a run for Elk Grove City Council, District 3. According to the article, Spease “was associated” with the Republic party in the past. Really now? Is Spease still a registered Republican? Why this reporting? To give Spease some “editorial” distance from Donald Trump and the Republican Party and to biasly report him a viable candidate against Democrat Maureen Craft.

Renegade said...

what's your point Eye?
I see nothing wrong or sinister bout the report. It seems to be accurate as far as I can see.

Personally, I think it's time to get some NEW blood into those chairs, not the same 'ole boys (or girls) who see things the same way.

Spoons and Forks said...

Regardless of comments from "Unknown" and "Eye", there is too much importance given to Mayor Ly. Only two of his local candidates won office. Of those two, Brewer and Moreno, one was an incumbent and the other, Moreno, would have won on her own merit. Craft, Spease, and whoever else enters this race will win on their own merit and, more importantly, how bad they want it. Lots of people want to hold office, very few want to do the hard work to get there - just ask Stephanie Nguyen and Darren Suen.

Capt. Benjamin Willard said...

Like myself, I am sure other readers noticed Ms. Lynn Wheat displaying what appeared to be a clipboard during public testimony at a recent Elk Grove city council meeting that said something like Lynn Wheat District 3 2020, implying she may too enter that race. Ms. Wheat would undoubtedly be a wild card in a contest featuring Ms. Craft and Mr. Spease.

While conventional wisdom might point to Ms. Wheat being nothing more than a spoiler, who is to say she could not generate substantial support with single-issue voters if she came out in opposition to Dr. Cheung's CNU project.

Mr. Spease and Ms. Craft are typical party candidates who will be tied to business and labor interests respectively. Does anyone think they will oppose the project lest they are painted as, respectively, anti-business or anti-labor?

Renegade said...

As usual, the Captain is right on.

We all know Spease is all about the status quo. Last time he ran he said the first thing he would do was quash the roundabout plans near his family's property on Waterman Road. That would have been a prime example of conflict of interest. And Mr. Spease didn't see that. For that reason alone, you shouldn't vote for him. His ethics are non-existent or he's just plain stupid. We certainly don't need more of either of those traits on the council.
I've never seen Craft at a council meeting or even stood for anything the citizens should be concerned with.
As for Ms. Wheat..yes, I could get behind her. I dodn't always agreewith her and her methods, I know she cares about ALL the citizens and the future of the city, not just making $$ from developers and letting someone else, years from now, deal with the crap the city may become.

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