Kevin Michael McCarty (born January 6, 1972) is an American politician who has served as Mayor of Sacramento since 2024. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

from 2014 to 2024, representing the 6th Assembly District, which encompasses a portion of the

Sacramento metropolitan area The Greater Sacramento area is a metropolitan region in Northern California comprising either the U.S. Census Bureau defined Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade metropolitan statistical area or the larger Sacramento–Roseville combined sta ...

and most of the city of Sacramento. McCarty was a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus. Prior to being elected to the Assembly in 2014, he served on the Sacramento City Council representing the 6th district, which includes part of the eastern and southeastern parts of the city.

Background

McCarty was born in Washington D.C., the son of Barbara and Eliot McCarty. His mother is

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

and his father is

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

. After his parents separated when he was a small child, his mother moved with her children to Sacramento. McCarty graduated with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

from CSU Long Beach and has a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in public policy and administration from Sacramento State. Before his service as an elected official, McCarty served as Policy Director to former California Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante, and as an Assembly Budget Committee consultant to then-Assemblywoman

Denise Moreno Ducheny Denise Moreno Ducheny (born March 21, 1952) is an American lawyer and former politician from California. She is a former California State Senator who represented Senate District 40, which includes southern San Diego County, part of Riverside Co ...

. While on the City Council, McCarty worked as a legislative advocate for Preschool California.

Political career

McCarty served on the Sacramento City Council from 2004 to 2014. Representing many of

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

's older neighborhoods, McCarty advocated for safe housing, inspections of Sacramento's numerous rental housing units,

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms and ammunition by civilians. Most countries allow civilians to own firearms, bu ...

, and the creation of after-school programs. Council member McCarty along with Darrell Fong voted against a $257 million subsidy to develop a downtown entertainment and sports complex for the Sacramento Kings. In 2014, incumbent Democrat Assemblyman Roger Dickinson ran for the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature (the lower house being the California State Assembly). The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...

, leaving the California's 7th Assembly District vacant. McCarty ran again and this time was successful, defeating fellow Sacramento City Councilman Steve Cohn. As a result of the 2020 census, McCarty's Elmhurst neighborhood was redistricted to the 6th Assembly District, from which he was re-elected in 2022 election.

Personal life

He currently resides in the Elmhurst neighborhood with his wife, Leticia García, and their twin daughters Victoria and Barbara. He is

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Electoral history

References

External links

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Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarty, Kevin 1972 births 21st-century mayors of places in California 21st-century members of the California State Legislature African-American Catholics African-American mayors in California African-American state legislators in California California State University, Long Beach alumni California State University, Sacramento alumni Democratic Party mayors in California Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly Living people Mayors of Sacramento, California Sacramento City Council members 21st-century African-American politicians