Sacramento City Council District 3: Who's running in the June 7 primary election

Learn more about local races and get a personalized ballot in CapRadio's 2022 Sacramento Primary Voter Guide.

There were big changes made earlier this year to Sacramento’s City Council boundaries, but none were more significant than the massive shift to District 3. 

In just a few months time — about how long the decennial redistricting process takes — the district went from snaking westward from East Sacramento to the River District and South Natomas to losing East Sacramento and the River District entirely.

Now the district encompasses the South Natomas, Gardenland and Northgate neighborhoods.

And the changes extended beyond boundaries. Jeff Harris, the City Council member who has represented the district since 2014 can no longer run for reelection because he doesn’t live in the newly drawn district.

That left the seat wide open, signaling yet another change of the guard on the City Council. Three of the eight districts will have a new representative. One other seat may be vacant come November, if City Council member Eric Guerra wins his bid for state Assembly.

There are three candidates running to represent the district:

• Adrianne Gonzales: A healthcare professional, who was born and raised in Sacramento. She is a renter who currently lives in Gardenland with her husband and children. 
• Karina Talamantes: Currently serves as President of the Sacramento County Board of Education and as Chief of Staff to outgoing District 1 Councilmember and Vice Mayor Angelique Ashby. Talamantes played a big role in bringing the multi-million dollar aquatic complex to Natomas as well as the California Northstate University teaching hospital.
• Michael Lynch: Born and raised in South Sacramento’s Valley Hi neighborhood, Lynch is the cofounder of the nonprofit Improve Your Tomorrow, which works to erase the college opportunity gap for Black youth.

In primary elections, the top two candidates will move on to the November election unless one candidate wins more than 50% of the vote.