Openly Gay Sac City Councilman Subject Of "Smear Campaign" Says Mayor

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg and others are pushing back against what they call a "smear campaign" targeting Councilmember Steve Hansen. They're unhappy with door hangers distributed around the city over the weekend which Hansen claim target him because he is the first openly-gay member of the council.

The door hangers are the work of people supporting Hansen's political opponent, Katie Valenzuela. The door hangers feature a bright and colorful image of Valenzuela below a darkened, black and white image of Hansen and read, "We Must Stand Up for Our Values." They also read, "Steven Hansen Supports Republicans." On the opposite is a picture of President Trump under the words "Resist Locally."

Valenzuela claims her campaign had nothing to do with the attacks and that she supports Hansen as an LGBTQ person. Funding for materials came primarily from the political committee Sacramento Working Families via donations from Service Employees International Union Local 1021.

While Hansen insisted during a Monday news conference that he is being targeted because he's gay, the door hangers don't actually include any reference to his sexual orientation.

Mayor Steinberg didn't attempt to make that connection, but he did object to any attempt at comparing Hansen to Trump.

"Those are fighting words," said Steinberg.

Rosanna Herber is the first openly-gay member of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District Board of Director. She did a agree with Hansen's interpretation of the door hangers. She called the wording about values as code for anti-LGBTQ sentiments, and she insisted that can't be tolerated by the community.

The full news conference may be heard below.

Sacramento City Councilmember Steven Hansen news conference regarding "smear campaign" against him.

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