Ly concedes to Singh-Allen - Mayor-elect seeks to organize COVID task force, conduct audit of Elk Grove's response to pandemic
https://www.elkgrovenews.net/2020/11/ly-concedes-to-singh-allen-mayor-elect.html
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| Bobbie Singh-Allen (center) with family members on November 3. | |
UPDATED 3:10 p.m. |
This afternoon Elk Grove Mayor Steve Ly conceded defeat to Bobbie Singh-Allen in the recent hotly contested mayoral race.
According to a statement issued this afternoon by Singh-Allen, Ly called her late this morning to acknowledge her victory. Although not certified by Sacramento County, the remaining uncounted ballots made it mathematically unlikely Ly could overtake Singh-Allen's 46 to 34-percent lead.
In her statement, Singh-Allen, who will become the first Sikh directly elected women mayor in the United States, promised to represent the interests of all Elk Grove citizens. The three-way race for mayor, which included Brian Pastor, at times became heated as Singh-Allen and Ly, and their supporters exchanged barbs.
“I am truly humbled and honored by our victory," Singh-Allen said. "This win is not about me, it is about the well being of Elk Grove."
With her victory, Singh-Allen will assume office during the December 9 Elk Grove City Council meeting, and she will have to resign from her seat on the Elk Grove Unified School District Board of Trustees. With her resignation from the EGUSD Board of Trustees, it is expected the vacancy will be filled by appointment.
In addition to announcing her victory, Singh-Allen also said she would form a COVID-19 economic task force. The statement noted, "This will include conducting an audit of what have we done as a city and identifying quickly areas where more needs to be done."
Like many municipalities in California that operate as general law cities, the mayor's position in Elk Grove presides over council meetings and, aside from some ceremonial tasks and minor matters, has no more power other than being elected citywide and not on a by-district basis for councilmembers. To form a city-sanctioned COVID-19 task force and to perform an official audit on the city's response to the pandemic, Singh-Allen would need the consensus of the other four city councilmembers.
Pastor has not released an official statement regarding the election. Ly, who was first elected Mayor in 2016 after being elected to the District 4 seat in 2014, released a statement that can be viewed below.
UPDATE - This story has been updated to include Ly's statement which can be viewed below. Click to enlarge.
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It is interesting that in his concession statement, Mayor Ly did not congratulate Ms. Singh-Allen.
If, as noted, Ms. Singh-Allen needs city council approval to form the task force and conduct an audit of the city, how will the other four council members, especially the council's dean Mr. Hume interpret this? As for the audit, if the city council goes along with this, how will the city staff react? Unless some Nav Gill-type of shenanigans is going on, it could make for a rocky start to Ms. Singh-Allen's relations with city staff.
Does Mayor-elect Bobbie Singh-Allen understand The Brown Act? She cannot form anything without a majority consensus of the Elk Grove City Council.
And saying, "She will form. . . " without bringing it before the entire council, get it agendized, and more importantly open it to public comment whom she vows to represent before any vote of the entire council, shows that Singh-Allen appears to have set the stage for her style of governance.
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