Alcalde — Ciudad de Elk Grove

Elk Grove has been home to my family and I for 20 years.  I’ve devoted my career to educating young people and creating the communities that help them thrive.  I am a proud graduate of the University of California, Davis.  After earning degrees in Sociology and Political Science, I continued my education and subsequently earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence.  As a youth counselor by occupation, I continue to provide academic support to foster youth and young people in juvenile hall on a daily basis.

Driven by my passion to help youth succeed, I was initially elected to public service as a trustee on the Elk Grove Unified School Board.  Subsequently, in November of 2014, I was elected to the Elk Grove City Council.  In 2015, I was elected by the Elk Grove City Council to serve as the City’s first Vice Mayor of Asian Pacific Islander descent.  More recently, I was elected in 2016 as the second Mayor of the city and also became the first Mayor of Hmong descent in the nation.

My appointments have included: Director to the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, Director to the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District, Alternate Director to the Sacramento Sewer Area District, Alternate to the Greater Sacramento Area Economic Council, Advisor to the Global Medical Foundation, Member of the Entertainment Facility Ad Hoc Committee, Director / Treasurer to the National Parent Teacher Home Visitation Project, Member of the League of Cities – API Caucus, and Director for Serve Elk Grove.  I’ve also previously served on the Asian Pacific School Board Members Association (APISBMA), Carroll Elementary School Site Council, California State Advisory Council on Refugee Assistance and Services, Elk Grove Optimist Club, and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Community Advisory Board.

As Mayor, I want to continue to develop a local economy built on good wages & benefits, safe & affordable neighborhoods, and an infrastructure that meets our needs.  I want to strengthen our neighborhoods by making sure that housing is affordable and jobs or services are just a few blocks away.  Now that we've been able to bring medical schools to Elk Grove, we're finally in a position to get a hospital in our city—that will be a priority for me in the next two years. 

Mitigating traffic is a huge priority for me because inadequate planning and quick development have caused gridlock to get a stranglehold on our city's roads for many hours of the day.  We've got to create additional capacity on our existing roads and also create new ones.  However, one of the biggest reliefs in that regard would be bringing light rail down to Elk Grove’s transit hubs. The number of people that use I-5 and Highway 99 between Elk Grove and Sacramento every day far outweigh those few who need a light rail to the airport, so I just think that it makes sense that an extension south should be our first priority.  It's no secret that most of our residents are commuters, so I also want to keep up my work to reduce the imbalance of the housing to jobs ratio in Elk Grove.  That would not only help reduce traffic but also bring more stability to our local economy and reduce the number of miles traveled, in support of regional environmental goals. 

As a civil engineer and land management specialist who worked both locally and across California to modernize infrastructure and build sustainable communities, Darren Suen is uniquely qualified to help guide Elk Grove into the future.

Darren is the great grandson of immigrants who came to California looking for a better life. Born and raised in Sacramento, Darren was steeped in the values of hard work, family, and fiscal responsibility. He took his first job, sorting and packing produce, at age 15. After graduating from John F. Kennedy High School in Sacramento, Darren attended Sacramento City College and then Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he earned his degree in Civil Engineering.

Attracted by its close proximity to family, strong schools, and high quality of life, Darren and his wife Denise relocated to Elk Grove in 2000 to raise their three children; Lauren, Conner and Carson.

Upon returning to Elk Grove, Darren sought out public service to give back to the community he and his wife chose to raise their children. He first sought public service through an appointment to the Franklin/Laguna Community Planning Council and later became Elk Grove’s representative to the Sacramento Transportation Air Quality Collaborative.

Then in 2014, Darren was appointed by a unanimous decision to the Council in December 2014 to serve the remainder of the District 1 term vacated by Assembly Member Jim Cooper. He was elected to a full term in November 2016. Since joining the city council in December 2014, Darren ensured the passage of balanced budgets with ample reserves, the approval of an animal shelter, aquatic center, and a combined senior center/veterans hall/community center.

Darren is passionate about helping local government, businesses, and community groups craft policies that support job creation, while making neighborhood planning initiatives more sustainable, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of Elk Grove’s growing community.