Former Sacramento Councilman Loloee's vacant seat to be filled by end of month
SACRAMENTO — Following a federal probe and indictment of former Sacramento City Councilman Sean Loloee surrounding his private businesses, we are now learning who may take over his seat on the council for the rest of the year.
The search is now down to three candidates: youth leader Raquel Shipp, Hmong organizer Shoun Thao, and retired social advocate Tim Smith.
The three were chosen by a committee of council members following their public interview at the Hagginwood Community Center.
"Now I'm feeling confident. Before, I was like, 'I'll just raise my hand and show up authentically,' " Shipp said.
"We shouldn't even have had to go through this process," Thao said.
"I think it went incredibly well," Smith said.
Not everyone at Hagginwood Community Center approved of this city hall interview process. Gordon Lew said councilmembers should not be picking their colleagues.
"To me, it's kind of a little strange," Lew said. "It's like we're going to play a game of football, and then we get to pick our friends instead, and then they are going to come in there? It's kind of loading the deck in some sort."
The interim councilmember will replace Loloee, who resigned after federal charges of fraud related to his supermarket businesses.
Loloee has pleaded not guilty.
"I think there is some legitimate commentary about Mr. Loloee's tendency not to get back in touch with people who call his office," Smith said.
"I'd really like to rebuild trust of this seat," Shipp said.
This underserved area of Sacramento is facing challenges of decayed infrastructure, homelessness, and jobs.
Now, these new faces could replace a disgraced councilmember and have a powerful say in city-wide policy.
The three recommended candidates will go before the council on March 26, with the full council making the final selection.
The swearing-in ceremony will be the first week of April, and whoever is selected will be a placeholder for this seat through the end of the year.