California's 7th District race: Matsui campaign files for city records to scrutinize Vang's attendance

Mathew Miranda, The Sacramento Bee on Oct 13, 2026

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Rep. Doris Matsui’s campaign has turned to California’s public records law in its latest effort to scrutinize congressional challenger and Sacramento Council member Mai Vang.

The campaign submitted a public records request on Friday seeking forms filed to the Sacramento mayor by Vang in which she cites preferences for local government appointments. The mayor weighs these preferences to appoint council members to serve on the boards of various committees, regional authorities and agencies.

Matsui’s campaign — most notably in a campaign ad earlier this month — has repeatedly bashed Vang for her attendance record at three of these local government bodies. Previous reporting from The Sacramento Bee found that Vang missed about half of the monthly meetings at the Sacramento Regional Transit District board and Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District board in 2024.

Matsui and Vang are locked in a contentious race to represent California’s 7th Congressional District. Vang represents a broader wave of younger candidates seeking to oust longtime Democratic incumbents across the country.

In response to ongoing criticism by Matsui, Vang has put up a “Fact Check” page on her campaign website that calls the ads “full of lies” and notes that Vang was assigned to 16 boards, commissions and committees in 2024. Some local agencies or government bodies can hold their meetings on the same day.

“Congresswoman Matsui is spending her corporate-funded war chest to spread misinformation about Mai Vang and her record on regional boards,” the website states. “The public record tells a different story: the heaviest workload on the City Council.”

The Matsui campaign, in a news release Tuesday, said the records request is seeking “proof of Mai Vang’s excuse.” The request specifically asks for the form filed by Vang on which she requested her committee assignments and ranked them in her order of preference.

“Voters need to know if Councilmember Vang and her supporters are making up a story to hide the consequences of her unchecked ambition to hold titles without doing the work that comes along with them,” said Matsui campaign manager Bill Wong in the news release. “If she requested those assignments herself, then she has no excuse for missing all of those meetings that taxpayers pay her to attend.”

Vang’s campaign manager Nairka Treviño Müller said “another attack, more desperation from the Matsui campaign” in response to records request.

“This has been disproven and fact checked,” Treviño Müller said in a written statement. “Congresswoman Matsui is distracting from the fact that working families’ lives have gotten worse under her leadership.”

It is unclear if the Matsui campaign will receive the requested records before the November election.

California law allows government agencies up to 10 days, and in some cases 14 days, for an initial response. That is not a deadline for the records, however, and there are several documented examples of the city of Sacramento taking months to fulfill a request.

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