Sacramento City Council District 6 Candidates Make Their Pitch

This week, people who live in Sacramento City Council District 6 will begin voting for their next council member.

Bruce Pomer and Eric Guerra have quite a few similarities.

They have served on a college system's board of trustees -Pomer on the Los Rios Community College Board and Guerra on the Cal State Board. The two candidates say the city should do all it can to help business corridors and parks.

But, they do have different backgrounds.

Pomer is retired as director of the Health Officers Association. He runs a company that provides advice on responding to communicable diseases and health hazards. Pomer says  he would use his experience to help stabilize the city's finances.

"That's the kind of background that I think will help me to ensure the city has a sensible reserve, that they deal with the $2 billion wall of debt that we have, that we're able to maintain services," Pomer says.

Guerra immigrated from Mexico to Esparto when he was a boy and worked in the fields there. He is on the Sacramento County Planning Commission and works on the staff of an assemblymember. Guerra says he would use his experience to help businesses and neighborhoods in poorer areas of the district.  

"Coming from humble beginnings, entering the middle class and being fortunate to live in a good community -- that experience I think is a perspective that is needed in the district to ensure that all of our needs are well-maintained, well-understood and connected with the district," Guerra says.

Guerra and Pomer say they would have voted against the $223 million public subsidy for the arena, but will consider each future vote on arena components based on the merits of the request, not on their view of the subsidy.

Ballots will be mailed March 9. People have until April 7 to vote.