SerpApi.Org
After five years on the West Sacramento City Council as the first Black person elected to the position, Dawnté Early has decided not to seek reelection, saying the growing needs she sees as CEO of United Way California Capital Region require her full attention.
“After a lot of reflection and more tears than I expected, I’ve decided to not seek re-election,” she said in a video statement posted to LinkedIn earlier this month. “That sentence is still hard for me to say out loud, because the truth is, I still love this work… But sometimes leadership also means recognizing where you’re needed most.”
At United Way California Capital Region, a 103-year-old philanthropic organization aiming to end poverty in the Sacramento area, Early said she sees families asking for help in “ways that they weren’t a few years ago.”
According to Early, the One Big Beautiful Bill, also known as House Resolution 1, is at the root of the problem. The Trump administration’s tax and funding overhaul from last year included major cuts to Medicaid and other social program funding, which she said have increased demand for nonprofits such as United Way.
Still, Early described her decision not to seek reelection as very difficult - especially given changes in the national conversation surrounding race and racial justice. She said being a council member has meant representing not only 3rd District but also the Black community, especially Black women.
“I feel a sense of responsibility to be a representative,” she said in reference to her identity. “What does it mean if I’m stepping back as folks are fighting across the country to hold on to representation?”
Early has endorsed middle school teacher and West Sacramento Planning Commissioner Preston Jackson to fill her seat. Jackson served as president of the Washington Unified School District Board of Trustees during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time Early described as “one of the most difficult periods any local leader has faced.”
“If someone can help guide the community through a global pandemic, I’m very confident that Preston is going to be able to help lead District 3 through whatever challenges come next,” she said.
Jackson said that, if elected to the City Council, he hopes to emulate Early’s work ethic.
» Davis/Yolo news in your inbox: Get our free Davis/Yolo email newsletter here
“Hopefully if I can get the opportunity to represent the people of Area 3 ... I would be able to continue the hard work that Dawnté set out,” he said.
Real estate agent David Jans is also running for the position. Others seeking the post have until Aug. 7 to file paperwork to run in the race, according to Yolo County election officials.
“Have you ever thought about running for City Council?”
That’s the question state Sen. Christopher Cabaldon, then mayor of West Sacramento, asked Early six years ago. She said it changed her life.
According to Early, Cabaldon saw something in her she hadn’t yet seen in herself. As chief of research and evaluation at the state’s Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, she said, she had no political connections.
“I wasn’t even sure someone who looked like me could win in West Sacramento,” she said in her video statement.
Early holds a Ph.D. in human development from UC Davis. Even so, she recalled wondering if she was qualified to serve - an experience she said is common among women in leadership roles.
She said her mindset shifted, though, when Cabaldon told her that her lived experience was enough and that she belonged at the table.
It was 2020. Like many others, Early said, she could not stop thinking about the murder of George Floyd and how she might contribute to social progress.
“I was at the state working on things I cared about, but still felt like there was this whisper in my head of ‘You should be doing more to help your community,’” she recalled.
She said running for City Council felt like the answer.
Early ran for election for the first time that year, describing her campaign as “beautifully imperfect,” held together with “bubble gum, electrical tape, and people who simply believed in (her).” She lost by 79 votes but did not give up. The following year, she ran again and won.
After another council member took office in 2022, Early and her colleagues made history as the first all-female West Sacramento City Council.
Early said a few council projects stand out, including an affordable housing development for low-income parents attending college.
“As someone who was (once) a teenage mom that was struggling to get through school and find an affordable place to live, I loved that we got to make that happen in our city,” she said.
Other initiatives Early said she remembers proudly include West Sacramento’s annual Juneteenth celebration - “a space where people can come together, celebrate African American history ... and feel like they belong in (the) city” - and the approval of a plan to transform Club Pheasant, a longstanding local landmark in Southport. The project is expected to bring new restaurants to the area and create opportunities for people of color and women entrepreneurs.
Early said listening to constituents is the most important thing she has learned as a council member. The challenge, she continued, is “wanting to make sure that you are representing the community in its fullest way as much as you possibly can, while also balancing the reality of what’s possible.”
By choosing not to seek reelection, Early said she wonders whether she is letting the Black community down. Her goal, she said, is to pave the way for the next leader.
“If there’s one thing I hope comes from this, it’s this: I hope I’m not the last,” she said in her video statement. “I hope the next young Black girl who sees someone who looks like her serving on the City Council never has to wonder if she belongs.”
Reflecting on her time as a council member, Early thanked West Sacramento for believing in her and allowing her to serve. She called it “the honor of a lifetime” and encouraged others to seek local office.
“If you’ve ever wondered whether your voice matters, I’m here to tell you it does,” she said. “And if you’ve ever wondered whether your lived experience is enough, I’m here to tell you it is.”
