Detrick to run for Elk Grove City CouncilApril 12, 2008 Brought to you by EGCAPP Detrick to run for Elk Grove City Council by Bob Walters Published in the Sacramento Bee,

April 10, 2008 Steve Detrick apparently thinks he can help Elk Grove more from a seat on the City Council than as one of the city's leading community activists.A couple of months after saying he probably would not run for incumbent

Mike Leary's District 3 seat, Detrick surprised supporters Tuesday night with an e-mail declaration. He made it official at Wednesday's City Council meeting.

"I saw good changes (on the council) in 2006," Detrick said earlier Wednesday. "But I think there is room for improvement and I can be a ... catalyst to go from good to excellent." Detrick has been an engineer for PG&E for 35 years. Steve and his Realtor wife, Jan, have three sons: 30-year-old Steven, who lives in Las Vegas; Brian, a freshman at St. Mary's College in Moraga and captain of the water-ski team; and Nick, a junior at Elk Grove High who was elected 2009 senior class president.

Detrick burst onto the Elk Grove political stage when Wal-Mart's plan for a supercenter on Sheldon Road -- essentially across the street from the Detricks' home at Shortline Lake -- prompted him to help forge the Elk Grove Coalition Advocating Proper Planning. When Wal-Mart blinked first, Steve and the coalition officially were empowered.