Sacramento mayoral candidate Kevin Johnson recently met with me for a little one-on-one. However, we did not shoot hoops; I am nine inches shorter than he and a couple of years older. Instead, we had 40 minutes of uninterrupted discussion about Sacramento’s most pressing issues: politics, traffic, St. Hope Academy, K Street, the homeless, city boards and commissions, the city’s budget and the need for a new arena. And many of the issues I covered were questions submitted by Sacramento Union readers.

When I walked into the conference room at the Kevin Johnson for Mayor headquarters on 16th Street, his assistant introduced us.

“I feel as if I already know you,” said Johnson with an engaging smile. “I read your column every week.”

Johnson looked the role of a successful business leader, dressed in a crisp blue dress shirt, attractive tie and tailored trousers.
He ushered me into the conference room where he conducts his many meetings. I noticed that the campaign offices were furnished, but with no frills. It’s refreshing to see that in some offices, form follows function and apparently a limited budget.

We shared some friendly banter about a few of my recent columns before I launched into my questions.

Bloated Commissions and Boards
How do you feel about city council members and county supervisors filling every board and commission seat?

He laughed.

“I remember the column you did about this,” he said, sitting back in his chair.

Johnson agreed that there is a problem with a city that hoards the boards and commission positions without citizen representation. More than anything, he said he wants “transparency” in city government.

“Parts of the process are good and parts are not good. We need to keep talking about what we’re not satisfied with,” he said. “Change starts from the bottom, not the top.”

Dealing with Local Homelessness
Switching gears, I asked what he would do about Sacramento’s increasing homeless population.

Johnson thinks we need to have a regional approach to this issue, as it is not just a downtown problem. He said that his goal and campaign slogan is a “City that works for everyone”—and that begins with taking care of the least affluent among us, that everyone who is homeless does not choose that life.

Johnson also said he wants to create an effective way to deal with homelessness using regional support from surrounding counties. Johnson said he recently met with Phil Gordon, mayor of Phoenix, Ariz., to discuss what his city did to
manage the homeless population. They created shelters and transitional housing, jobs and training programs, offered mental counseling, all in a holistic approach. Moreover, the city government didn’t pay for the program exclusively; counties and the business community helped, as they have a stake as well. In Sacramento, he said, the Stockton Boulevard area is working on this approach to deal with homelessness.

Good speech, but I found that his answer did not address the increasing homeless population issue. In fact, his approach seems to give the homeless more incentive to come to Sacramento and stay.

Traffic Calming Projects
We moved on to the city’s “traffic calming” projects. Johnson has strong opinions about this issue as he works and resides within the city and has to navigate city streets. So far, he has not found anyone in favor of the city’s “traffic calming,” nor is he particularly fond of it.

Johnson instead finds that what the city has implemented and claims “calms traffic” are really impediments, referring to the sometimes cumbersome cement medians, too-large roundabouts (with dead or dying plants in them), sidewalk corners that jut out into the street, one-way streets converted to two-way, unused bike lanes where car lanes once existed and poor signage. He said that downtown makes it too difficult for travelers, residents and workers. Downtown Sacramento used to flow nicely and Johnson thinks the city’s “calming” projects have backfired. And hardly as an aside, Johnson wondered aloud how emergency vehicles even get around the chopped up streets.

I told him that I heard on the news one evening that city planners are using the “traffic calming” to try to force people out of their cars and onto RT trains, buses and bicycles.

Johnson had a look of disbelief on his face.

The Motives Behind the Man
Next question: How can you assure the people of Sacramento that you will do what’s best for the city, and not what’s best for your plan to open St. Hope charter schools across the country?

“The work we did in Oak Park served Sacramento High School and the neighborhood,” Johnson said. “Charter schools are not a panacea—just one option. We need options [in Sacramento schools].”

Johnson added that what he wanted to do with the St. Hope project was “most effective for Oak Park.” If elected mayor, he said that he would need to do what is best for the city as a whole. He has hired an operator for St. Hope (locally) and if elected mayor, Johnson will transition his national work at St. Hope to a new president.

“It will not be a conflict,” he said.

Reforming the School Boards
I asked Johnson how he felt about local politicians on public school boards. He said that he needed time to give that a little thought. He did offer that around the country, the natural political progression seems to be that folks run for school boards first, then city council and so on.

Saving K Street Mall
Question: As a long time Sacramento resident, do you remember what the K Street Mall was like when you were a kid? What has happened or not happened—what are your thoughts and what do you want to see change on K Street?

Johnson quickly answered.

“Tremendous opportunity… but how do we return it to the vibrancy it once was?” he responded. “As I travel around to different cities, I look for another K Street, but don’t find anything this unique.”

He said that there is something wrong with the traffic in and around K Street.

“It’s a gold mine waiting to happen but there is something flawed about it,” he said with a perplexed look on his face. He clearly was trying to get his arms around the complex and historic issues facing K Street.

Concerning the city’s possible use of eminent domain to take properties owned by Moe Mohanna on 7th and 8th streets, Johnson said, “We need to get beyond it. However, we need to study it more.”

Johnson then brought up the Railyard development: “It needs to happen without competing with K Street,” he said emphatically. “Sacramento is prime for it.”

Then he shared a little aside: Johnson conducted a survey during his last year in the NBA. He asked players from different teams to name their three favorite cities to visit, as well as their three least favorite. The three least favorite cities were Milwaukee, Salt Lake City and Sacramento. And each player he quizzed said the same thing: There is nothing to do when they are here. They said the city shuts down at 5 p.m. once the downtown work crowd goes home.

This perplexed Johnson. After all, he said, “Sacramento has great weather, a riverfront, but no activity after five for the most part.”

He said he’s tired of defending his hometown and gets irritated when Sacramento is described as the halfway point between San Francisco and Lake Tahoe.

Sale of the Sheraton Grand Hotel
The next issue was the recent sale of the Sheraton Grand Hotel. As he shook his lowered head, he simply said, “Interesting.”

I asked if the proceeds from the sale should go to the general fund given the city’s deficit, instead of back to the developer.

Kevin Johnson replied that the “Whole thing is peculiar.”

He said he appreciates hotel developer David Taylor but thinks the deal should have been transparent, so that everyone can understand why certain decisions were made.

“They [the city council] may have good reasons, but we’re hearing a lot of criticism, which means we don’t know [what went on behind closed doors].”

A New Arena for The Kings
Kevin Johnson offered to discuss the arena issue. He said it was a public relations mess, and that we (the taxpayers) just wanted to be informed so we could make educated decisions about the issue.

“We need to be very firm about the need to keep [the] Kings in Sacramento. But the Maloofs [the team’s owners] need to commit as well. The arena itself cannot be just talked about as a basketball venue; it must also be an entertainment facility,” Johnson said, adding that what has disturbed him is “the visceral reaction whenever people talk about the arena. Sacramento residents are still angry about it.”

I asked what he feels about the Railyard for the arena location. Johnson said that with good leadership, we can make that happen. He is a proponent of a downtown arena and has seen firsthand what a big arena can do for a downtown. He is aware that not all residents may see the benefits, but feels that with open discussions, no secret agendas and input from Sacramento residents, leadership can make it happen the right way.

Being Candidate Johnson
I asked him what his impression of the local election process is thus far. Is it possible for average citizens to run up against a Fargo war chest?

Kevin Johnson said that one needs courage. He admitted that he is challenging the way local government has been run.

“For me, taking on Heather Fargo… it has been very interesting so far.”

He said he wants to “run his own campaign and not have it be just about the 50 opinion makers in Sacramento, but make it about average residents, the general public.”

He added that he was recently offered a big endorsement, but turned it down when the group who made the offer wanted something from him in return. He turned them down. He said he doesn’t need to give something up for endorsements.

Johnson continued: “I got two city council endorsements because I want to be part of doing things differently.”

Ultimately, Johnson thinks Sacramento will benefit directly because of that.

Final Score
Johnson said that he wants to sit down with me again and go over the rest of my questions, and to email him additional issues and questions. As the June election draws near, we will do another interview.

Surprisingly, he volunteered information that after one particularly brutal column in which I called the members of the city council “irresponsible,” he decided to run for mayor.

Johnson said that if someone has the gumption to write what I write, then many Sacramento residents must feel the same way.

With Mayor Heather Fargo’s early intentional foul over allegations that Johnson hadn’t filed taxes properly, a couple of air balls and her penchant for traveling, she’s going to need a stellar performance to overcome the hoopla surrounding Johnson.

Johnson, on the other hand, has already demonstrated on the court that he is a swingman – a player who can play both the guard and forward positions - but will the election be a slam dunk? Or will Mayor Fargo try an overhead pass to Rob Fong? Will she and her team fast break all the way to the election?

Will Johnson show us that he is still “blindingly quick”? If it’s just a campaign of double-fouls, will KJ be able to out-jump Mayor Fargo?

Sacramento still has questions and I have another interview on the way.

Stay tuned Union readers.