Stevante Clark—brother of 22-year-old Stephon Clark, who was gunned down and killed by two Sacramento police officers last year—will soon be appointed to committee that will help the city decide how to tens of millions of dollars.
Sacramento City Council member Larry Carr told CapRadio Tuesday that he is appointing Clark to the new 15-member Measure U Community Advisory committee.
The committee will oversee the way the city spends funds from a city sales tax increase that voters approved in November—an increase that could bring revenue of $100 million a year to the city.
“It is bold. And I would expect that it would draw some controversy,” Carr said about the nomination.
He acknowledged that Clark has had some rough spots since his brother’s death. He infamously disrupted a city council meeting last march, jumping on the desk of mayor Darrell Steinberg and telling him to shut up. He was also arrested in April for suspicion of assault and making death threats.
Carr told CapRadio that Clark has “righted himself” since then and apologized “to people at City Hall that he offended. He has become involved in political activism, attended community meetings that Carr has put together and even announced his candidacy for mayor of Sacramento.
Mayor Steinberg has gone on record saying he thinks the funds should be spent in underserved communities, neighborhoods of color and job-training programs for young people, and he told CapRadio in a written stateent that he believes Clark “will play an important role” on the Measure U committee.
“It is remarkable that this young man, who has been through so much, has emerged from crisis as a leader in his family and dedicated himself to positive change in the community,” Steinberg wrote.
Carr also believes Clark will be “a smart ambassador for the young residents of South Sacramento.”
“Stevante is a solid citizen, I will tell you that,” Carr said.