Скачать или смотреть Does Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen have the courage to admit an error in judgment?

If there is one thing in short supply in American politics at all levels, it is courage. This lack of courage is true of elected officials who, when exercising poor judgment, rarely admit to making mistakes, much less try to make amends.

A prime example was on display this fall in Elk Grove, involving Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen. The recently completed election cycle witnessed Singh-Allen accepting the most controversial campaign contribution in the city's 24-year history.

This year, Singh-Allen accepted a $2,500 campaign contribution from tobacco purveyor R.J. Reynolds. The North Carolina company has been called a merchant of death for several reasons, not the least of which was their notorious creation of Joe Camel to lure children into the deadly habit of cigarette smoking.

However, there is a way for Singh-Allen to negate the effects of big tobacco money following her successful campaign. The way forward for Singh-Allen was presented to her during the Wednesday, November 13, Elk Grove City Council meeting.

During public comment on non-agenda items, Lynn Wheat noted that the third Thursday in November is the Great American Smoke Out. Sponsored by the American Cancer Society, the event seeks to raise awareness of tobacco's ill effects and to encourage and assist smokers who want to kick the habit.

During her comments at the city council meeting, Ms. Wheat gave a brief history of the annual event that started in 1970 and cited the deadly statistics related to tobacco use. She noted that the event began with people donating the money they had spent on one day's supply of cigarettes to a high school scholarship fund.

Along those lines, Wheat suggested that Singh-Allen, an eight-year Elk Grove Unified School District Trustee, donate the $2,5000 big-tobacco donation to the Elk Grove Unified School District's Health Academy Scholarship fund. Wheat's presentation can be seen in the video below.

After being presented with this noble way of avoiding dealing with a death merchant, does Singh-Allen have the courage to admit the error in her judgment and correct course? Or will she dig in her heels and not acknowledge her poor judgment?

Unless the mayor announces such a donation, the public will not know until her campaign disclosure, if filed in late January 2025. We will follow up on this story when her campaign disclosures are filed.

Until then, if Singh-Allen is like most politicians, which she is, we already know the answer to that question.