Update: Sacramento Councilman Sean Loloee agrees to city investigation into his residency

Sacramento City Councilman Sean Loloee on Friday agreed to cooperate with a city investigation into his residency, issuing a public statement that he’d comply just hours before his colleagues were expected to vote on launching an investigation into his residence.

Loloee, facing questions over whether he lives in the North Sacramento district he represents, had rejected an earlier request from Mayor Darrell Steinberg to cooperate with an investigation.

“I say with full confidence that I live in the district that I proudly represent,” Loloee said during the virtual press conference, sitting in Nogoales Street house where he says he lives. “My first job is to be a husband and father. I’m going to spend much needed time with my family just as I promised I would”

The council was scheduled to consider launching an investigation later Friday afternoon. City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood in a written statement said she confirmed with Loloee that he would cooperate with an independent review led by her office, and announced the meeting would be canceled.

The Sacramento Bee last month reported Loloee does not appear to live in the house. He bought the home and he registered to vote there just before running for council in 2019.

A woman who works for his grocery store lives in the house with her family, she told The Bee. Her family lived there last year and one of the family members registered to vote from the Nogales Street house in 2020, according to records reviewed by The Bee.

“I’ve allowed a close friend of mine of 16 years and his family to stay with me as my guests because they have fallen on hard times due to COVID,” Loloee said during the video statement.

Loloee told The Bee previously his wife and children live in the Nogales Street house with him. Loloee’s wife has owned a $1.4 million home in Granite Bay since 2016.

Loloee in June told The Bee the Granite Bay house has been vacant about two years. He then told CBS13 (KOVR) that his wife and children moved there in August.

Steinberg sent a letter to Loloee Tuesday asking him to agree to the independent inquiry. Loloee initially rejected the mayor’s request.

Sacramento requires council members to live in the districts they represent for the entirety of their terms. Loloee represents District 2, one of eight in the city.

The city has not yet determined which firm will conduct the inquiry, or how long it will take.

“In these matters, we must adhere to putting the constituents’ interest first and maintain the public trust,” Steinberg wrote in a document calling for an independent investigation into Loloee’s residency. “For that reason, it is important to address this matter directly, and resolve it so that it does not continue to distract from all the important work that the city is undertaking in District 2. An independent inquiry also gives councilmember Loloee the opportunity to clear this matter up.”

In California, if a city council member does not reside or have a domicile in the district they represent, the council could vote to declare the seat vacant, and the member would be replaced, said Fred Woocher, an election law attorney. A person who votes from a place they don’t live could face criminal charges for perjury and voter fraud, Woocher said. If convicted, the person would lose the council seat.