SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The city of Sacramento officially has its next mayor. Former Assemblyman Kevin McCarty has won the election.
Exactly one month after Election Day, the results are certified by the Sacramento County Registrar.
Ken Casparis, public information officer with Sacramento County, said all the ballots have been counted. According to the county’s website, 668,402 people voted.
“We understand that some people think that it took a little longer than they liked for those results to come out, but we had 650,00 ballots to count,” Casparis said.
McCarty claimed victory last week, making the following comments.
“A mayor for everybody, for every neighborhood for every individual,” McCarty said.
Dr. Flo Cofer waited until Tuesday at 3 p.m. to send an official statement to the media conceding the race. In the statement, she said she spoke to McCarty Monday night, and it was the first of many conversations they will have.
Cofer hopes her ideas of compassionate and effective solutions have made an impression and will be considered. But ultimately, what she wants to see from McCarty is actively listening to the community.
“49.5% of the voters voted for me and wanted new ideas and change... and so now we have an opportunity to govern together to be able to partner together and to collaborate and I hope that something he takes to heart and really leads in a way that brings this community together, especially with the Trump administration at the federal level,” Dr. Cofer said.
The race was decided by less than 2,000 votes.
“She brought a lot to the table. She made the conversations at the 30-plus forums meaningful and helped bring issues to the forefront and made me a better candidate and I think it’s going to help me,” McCarty said.
McCarty is set to be the 57th mayor of Sacramento. He said he’s humbled to take the helm of this hometown and has two main priorities for day one.
“One, we're gong to implement a streamline Sacramento process to help bring more jobs, more housing, more businesses to Sacramento. It’s going to be about a two-month process… the other issue we heard loud and clear on this campaign was homelessness, having a more coordinated response and more efficiently and effectively spending our scare dollars so we are going to issue an audit,” McCarty said.
Because the race was so close, ABC10 asked Sacramento County what the protocols are for a recount.
“Sacramento County doesn’t have an automatic recount trigger. Any recount here in Sacramento County has to be requested by the candidate or any registered voter in California. They have five days from the time we certify the election to request the recount,” Casparis said.
However, the person who requests the recount has to pay for it.
They can choose if they wanted it recounted through the machines or by hand.
Dr. Cofer said she does not plan on asking for a recount.
Kevin McCarty will be sworn in next Tuesday at city hall.
As for Dr. Cofer and what’s next for her, she said continuing to serve the community.
Cofer's full concession is available below.
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