Darrell Steinberg is in the final stretch of his tenure as Sacramento mayor. At Tuesday's city council meeting, members honored him for his eight years in office. He walked through the council chambers, shaking hands with those in attendance. Steinberg talked about being grateful to the people of Sacramento for choosing him to lead the city.Prior to his time as mayor, Steinberg also served on the council through much of the 90s.He also acknowledged that his time as mayor was not always positive, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing challenges in addressing homelessness. He said he faced a lot of controversy when he chose to lean into homelessness and increase the number of beds in the city from under 100 to more than 1,500.Steinberg also touted some of his recent successes. That includes a billion-dollar investment for a soccer stadium and entertainment venue in the Railyards. In the last month, Steinberg said he landed a billion-dollar investment in the railyards and a downtown soccer stadium.He also worked to create a plan to modernize Old Sacramento and invest money to raise the city's status as a "city of festivals," particularly music videos. Steinberg calls this experience the greatest honor of his life."I'm a little bit sad because this is what I have known in my life," Steinberg said. "I have actually been in the public eye now for half of my life, and most of my adult life. So it is a transition, and I'm trying to embrace the transition because I always preach to young people that power comes from within; you don't have to be an elected official. You don't have to have a formal title. You just need to want to give and be part of the community. Whatever I do in life, I'm going to continue to serve."On Dec. 10, Steinberg will hand over the reins to Kevin McCarty, who won the race to become the next mayor.Steinberg's advice for McCarty is to lead in his own way but to make sure to continue to grow the city in an inclusive way.Steinberg hasn't announced what's next for him, but for now, he says he will read, exercise, and get some rest. Council members Katie Valenzuela and Shoun Thao were also honored. Valenzuela lost her re-election bid to Phil Pluckebaum in the March primary election. Thao represented District 2 temporarily after Sean Loloee stepped down amid a federal investigation involving his local grocery market chain. Roger Dickinson won that seat in last month's election.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter