A Sacramento mayoral candidate tried to score cheap points off the Middle East | Opinion

Former Sacramento city councilman and current candidate for mayor Steve Hansen played the worst kind of politics last week when he took to social media to exploit the violence and bloodshed in Israel and Palestine for his own political purposes. His intended target was fellow mayoral candidate Flojaune Cofer.

On X, formerly known as Twitter, Hansen called Cofer out for her relationship with the local chapter of Democratic Socialists of America. The national DSA, and its San Francisco chapter, have come under criticism lately by some, including some Jewish leaders, for support of Palestine. On Saturday, the national organization posted on its website that it believes, “the Biden administration is actively supporting the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians” and demanded that “no money be given to fuel a massacre.”

On October 9, Hansen tweeted that the DSA and the Sacramento chapter of the DSA “sides with terrorists.”

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“What Hamas did to innocent civilians — killing & kidnapping — families, women & babies is abhorrent. It’s clear (the DSA and the Sac DSA) sides with terrorists,” Hansen wrote. “Will @Flo4Sacramento condemn their support of terrorism? Will @Flo4Sacramento reject their endorsement & disavow them?”

Cofer is not alone in being singled out this way. As Politico reported, “Among the politicians criticized for ties to the DSA: San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston; Sacramento mayoral candidate Flojaune Cofer; and L.A. City Councilmember Nithya Raman, who later disavowed the DSA.”

But Hansen’s cheap shot speaks to tensions between some wings of Sacramento’s Democratic party.

Cofer is a registered Democrat like Hansen, and she is supported by numerous local groups, including DSA, who have helped canvass neighborhoods for her.

“Hansen’s attack was an attempt to use people’s revulsion at the attacks on Israelis to score political points in this camp against Flo Cofer,” said David Mandel, a Sacramento DSA member and a former Israeli citizen. “It was using DSA to try and attack her.”

When contacted for an interview, Hansen sent back a statement via a campaign consultant, saying that “it is inexcusable that the Democratic Socialists of America, including their local chapter, have chosen to celebrate the actions of Hamas and blame the victims. Any candidate seeking office with the support of such a group should unequivocally disavow their endorsement.”

“An opponent who is struggling in this local race is trying to score political points in the midst of an international tragedy that’s only getting worse,” Cofer also said in a statement. “I don’t think it is respectful to any of the victims or their loved ones to fan the flames here locally.”

For the record, the national DSA party (including the Sacramento chapter) has expressed its support for Palestine, not Hamas — a terrorist organization, as defined by the U.S. government.

“We unequivocally condemn the killing of all civilians,” the DSA national party wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “It is imperative for international human rights law to be respected. But we cannot forget that the Israeli state has systematically denied Palestinians the right to self-determination for decades.”

DSA has different factions within it and different positions, Mandel said.

“I think I can certainly say that DSA believes in the rule of international law which, among other things, calls a ‘war crime’ anything that includes attacks on citizens,” he said.

This was clearly a swing from left field by a man who lost his last council race in 2020 to another progressive woman of color — current City Councilwoman Katie Valenzuela. Hansen is now using the same tactics that failed previously to try and take a swipe at Cofer.

Women of color are constantly held to account for activities or statements they had no part in — something that would be entirely dismissed if it was perpetrated by a white person instead. There’s even a word for it: misogynoir, defined as “the specific hatred, dislike, distrust and prejudice directed toward Black women.” Misogynoir is specifically used against Black women in positions of power; for example: the inexplicable and widespread belief in Vice President Kamala Harris’ ineptitude, despite her holding multiple academic degrees and having an incredibly successful career.

Hansen’s claims are a desperate overreach in a time of serious international conflict, made solely to gain an advantage with moderate voters in a local race. They were gratuitous, unwarranted, and unbecoming of any candidate, much less a former councilman, and a blatant attempt at peddling divisiveness to try to win an election.