Will Hume stay loyal to mentor Scherman as he eyes higher office?

Will Pat Hume dump his mentor Sophia Scherman?

If anything became apparent during 2010 on the Elk Grove City Council it’s this – there are two recognizable caucuses on the council.

One on side is Mayor Steve Detrick along with Vice Mayor Jim Cooper and council member Gary Davis. This alliance was evident in everything from the criticism leveled at Scherman for giving a pass to Congressman Dan Lungren for not advocating for the city to their collective opposition to Elk Grove’s “Humeville,” a.k.a., Pat Hume’s attempts to appease backers and include the Cosumnes River 100-year floodplain in the city’s sphere of influence application.

The culmination came last summer when there was a serious discussion to strip Scherman of her mayoral title following her attempts to co-opt meetings on juvenile group sex offenders facilities on Cheer Court.

Scherman, defended by her protégé Hume, was able to survive the ordeal. But it was pretty clear that Scherman had effectively alienated herself from Cooper, Davis and Detrick.

So just where does this leave Hume?

Following his and Davis’ reelection and Cooper's defeat in the sheriff’s race, the 3-2 council split remains intact. While Scherman clearly relishes her role of being Hume's political benefactor, one cannot help but wonder if Hume will finally tire of being under Scherman yoke and try breaking free given her pariah status with three of her fellow council members and her long and embarrassingly obtuse behavior on the dais.  

After all, what self-respecting ambitious pol wants to consistently be on the losing side of issues, be aligned with an unpopular politician and have no legislative accomplishments to crow about?

One of the open secrets of recent Elk Grove politics is that Hume aspires to be Elk Grove’s first elected mayor in 2012. Given the fact that his alliance with Scherman will hang on his neck like an albatross, it will be interesting to see just who Hume aligns himself with this year.

Will Hume ditch Scherman and pursue an alliance with CDD, or will he stand by his mentor's side through better or worse? If he does ditch his mentor, will CDD be willing to accept Hume into the fold or will he be viewed as being an unloyal partner? If past behavior is any guide, our guess is Hume will dump Scherman like a bad habit and jump on the bandwagon.

It will be interesting to see how Hume navigates the minefield on and off the dais in the coming year to bolster his appeal as seeks the mayoral position.