The Sarah Palin of Elk Grove

We had a changing the guard here in Elk Grove, what with the ousting of city council member Leary and the installment of Steve Detrick...the Sarah Palin of Elk Grove, out to clean up this town...out to create new jobs in Elk Grove...out to continue to the fight against new Wal Marts in this town.

So said his campaign materials.

Detrick had to raise $150,000 to get installed. This figure is the new minimum floor to get your foot past the city chamber threshold. Leary raised $128,000 to lose. Between these two and the other loser, nearly a third of a million dollars were blown in pretty glossy fliers, radio ads, signage, burnt gasoline, lost productivity, and my own lost time wasted blogging about it afterwards. All for one council seat among five.

What can Detrick really do, really, in the grand scheme of all things Elk Grovian? What could one council member possibly do, now, 20 years after we began this failed auto-centric suburban shithole experiment, to modify this worst jobs-to-resident-ratio 'community' into a livable, job-filled city?

He earned his political chops fighting a proposed Super Wal Mart near his house in East Elk Grove. For this I give him credit, considering how I believe large format retail has eviscerated local communities and local economies. The majority of his campaign funds came from local sources. Indeed, from only one local source -- $107,000 came loaned from himself and his wife! That's what it takes to fight Leary's contributions from the Committee for Homeownership of North State Builders Industry Association ($10,000), Feletto Development Co. ($1,500), William Niemi, a frontman for Dunmore Homes and the advancement of more suburban sprawl ($5,000) Granite Bay Capital Group, more hopeful development ($6,000)...all of which are not located in Elk Grove proper.

Will he be responsible growth? He wants jobs...but fights off a Wal Mart. I am fully aware of this absurd statement because I know that the only jobs currently available in Elk Grove are strip retail jobs. Did you notice that Wal Mart is the only major retailer above water? If we continue down our present suburban strip mall madness, pretty soon Wal Mart will be the only employer available. Where's Detrick gonna find new employers, huh, that aren't strip retailers such as PetSmart, Best Buy, Old Navy, or Target? How is he going to integrate these new employers into the zoning restrictions that mandate strip retail and low density sprawl?

If you are anti-sprawl like me, it is amazingly simple to find and follow the money trail and vote accordingly. If you ask any Elk Grovian, no one looks forward to the new four thousand home development across the street. But...Elk Grovians apparently prefer more sprawl, congestion, traffic, and lives of perpetual motoring, because the other two incumbent members who are pro-sprawl, with no discernible competition (i.e., no challenger with $107k of their own money), and bankrolled by external, pro-development sources, were re-elected easily.

This city gets what it deserves.