Dr. Richard Pan announces bid for Sacramento mayor
SACRAMENTO — A well-known California lawmaker is tossing his hat into the ring to run for mayor of Sacramento.
Dr. Richard Pan, a practicing pediatrician, informally discussed his bid for mayor on Bill Wong's The Ronin Project Podcast. The Democratic politician and physician served in the California Senate from 2014-2022, serving the 6th Senate district.
Pan gained notoriety for authoring some of the nation's toughest childhood vaccine mandates — and taking the heat for that, which at times turned physical.
He joins nearly half a dozen others including:
- Flojaune Cofer, an epidemiologist and senior director of policy for public health advocates
- Maggy Krell, a criminal prosecutor and human rights lawyer
- Steve Hansen a former city councilman and the city's first openly gay mayoral candidate
- Kevin McCarty, a current state assemblyman
- Jeff Harris, who has reportedly filed paperwork but has not formally announced
