Too Many Unanswered Questions About Ashby

Angelique Ashby is a candidate for Sacramento City Council’s District 1, but it’s unclear just who she really is. Yet one thing is certain -- she’s a flip-flopper on the subject of the strong-mayor initiative.

Last year she was very vocal about her opposition to the mayor’s power grab. Now she says charter reform is necessary, although she never really answers that pesky question of “why.”

Her change of heart was conveniently followed by an endorsement from Mayor Kevin Johnson and other Johnson cronies. Another connection: her campaign consultant is Steve Maviglio, the mayor’s spokesman and a strategist for the strong mayor issue. Supporters of the strong-mayor initiative recently plunked nearly $33,000 on independent expenditure campaigns pushing for her candidacy, campaign finance documents show. Her independence on the issue is unlikely – she’s made her proverbial compact with the devil.

Other things about Ashby also don’t quite add up.

She never says she is a lawyer, but she tends to place “Esq.” (short for esquire) and J.D. after her name. The California State Bar’s Web site has no record of Ashby. Might some people be left with the impression she is an attorney? Apparently so – a recent article in Capitol Weekly calls her “a Natomas-based attorney.”

Ashby says she’s a law-and-order candidate, but court records show in 1999 an attempt to evict her and a loan company coming after her.

Many questions and little clarity about the woman who would replace the proven Ray Tretheway on the city council.