OPINION: The State Of Downtown Sacramento

The Sacramento State of Downtown and the city was held Tuesday morning at the Sacramento Convention Center. With Sacramento’s downtown still hurting from Covid business lockdowns, as well as the riots of Summer 2020, city leaders are rightfully concerned with how to rejuvenate the Capitol City of California.

Traditionally, Sacramento’s downtown was where residents commuted in to the city for work, and went home at 5:00pm. Over the years, business owners in downtown Sacramento build a bustling restaurant and bar scene. Entertainment venues were refurbished and renovated, and new ones were established, balancing out Sacramento’s downtown night life.

But when Gov. Gavin Newsom locked down the entire state on March 4, 2020 over the Covid virus, followed by the 2020 riots, the grinding halt of business deeply hurt the city. Many businesses were unable to recover.

A local radio show broadcast Tuesday morning from the Convention Center and spoke with the Downtown Partnership, Convention Center management, and Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg.

The Downtown Partnership and Convention Center have had a challenging time attracting events and conventions to the city, largely because the city does not have the hotel rooms to accommodate really large events and conventions. There was good news too, but only because of the Herculean efforts by these organizations.

But another issue has caused concern and isn’t going away –  the large homeless population and increasing crime.

Several downtown streets look like no-go zones with abandoned buildings and storefronts, no-tell motels, open drug and sex trade, and shady characters up to no good.

The Mayor’s interview however, was disconcerting in that rather than accepting responsibility for the state of the city, Democrat Mayor Steinberg pivoted from the huge drug-addicted homeless population and crime, to shaming business owners for not doing their part.

He said business owners really needed to step up their help to the city, and told them they need to stop focusing on “me” and focus on “we.”

Actually Mr. Mayor, no. Business owners are in the business of running a business and are not responsible for helping you clear the city of the homeless drug addicts and criminals. I recognize that your job hasn’t been particularly rewarding since you were elected, but you are the Mayor.

Sacramento business owners are suffering, as business owners in nearly every Democrat run city are, across the county: They are fighting off crime, which goes unpunished; homeless addicts stealing from them, blocking their doorways, defecating and urinating on sidewalks in front of businesses, and harassing customers and employees.

Business owners still operating have lost business because of the deplorable conditions in cities. Many are fighting to stay afloat. Many more have closed their doors.

The problem with cities is not that business owners won’t help – plenty do. The problem with cities is the Democrats who run them. Most elected officials have no empathy with business owners because they’ve never run a business or signed the front of a paycheck. It’s easy to pick on a business owner who drives a nice German car when politicians don’t know he works 7 days a week, and has as many sleepless nights. It’s easy to call business owners selfish when elected officials don’t know how many homeless people the owner tried to help, but got fed up when the last one shattered his store window or ripped him off.

The Sacramento Mayor is talking about how Sacramento will need to change, but recognized that many offices full of workers will not be returning to downtown. He acknowledged that housing is an issue in Sacramento, and that it is too expensive.

The other huge issue killing Sacramento is crime which goes unpunished, thanks to Proposition 47 passed in 2014 – which then-Senator Steinberg supported. Proposition 47, passed by misinformed voters and flagrantly titled “The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act,” reduced a host of felonies to misdemeanors, including drug crimes, date rape, and all thefts under $950, even for repeat offenders who steal every day – which many do.

Prop. 47 decriminalized drug possession from a felony to a misdemeanor, and also removed law enforcement’s ability to make an arrest in most circumstances, as well as removing judges’ ability to order drug rehabilitation programs rather than incarceration.

Sacramento is even being sued in a class-action lawsuit by a group of disabled citizens over homeless camps on city sidewalks.

It wasn’t enough for business owners, office workers, and mothers walking with children to complain to city officials about drug addicted vagrants blocking city sidewalks. Most people’s complaints were ignored, despite violent confrontations with homeless, and daily harassment. Businesses have even closed in the City and along the Broadway corridor citing daily dangerous confrontations and harassment of employees and patrons by homeless vagrants.

These are quality of life issues in Sacramento, and all other California cities. The State of Downtown Sacramento won’t get much better until crime is prosecuted and the homeless are in treatment centers. Everything else is window treatment. The city cannot afford to ignore this.