Sacramento mayor race to shape capital's future

By JUDY LIN - Associated Press | Saturday, October 11, 2008 11:50 PM PDT ∞

SACRAMENTO ---- California's capital city has long lingered in the shadow of flashier nearby destinations, with its modest skyline, economy anchored by state government jobs and ample park space that's earned it the not-too-exciting nickname of Tree City.

Kevin Johnson vows to change that reputation in a mayoral race that pits the former NBA All-Star against a two-term incumbent who's taken a decidedly slower and steadier approach to running Sacramento.

Johnson's candidacy has brought big promises and big celebrities ---- Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley and Magic Johnson turned up for his rallies ---- to a city that's often outshined by the state politics centered here. And in a presidential election year, a record number of voters is expected to decide on Nov. 4 whether they like the pace of life set, in part, by Mayor Heather Fargo or want Johnson, a political novice who's vying to become the capital's first black mayor, to lead Sacramento into its own spotlight.

"It's not a traditional mayor's race," said Barbara O'Connor, director of the Institute for the Study of Politics and Media at Sacramento State University. "It's a metaphor for what's going on in the other (national) races."

Johnson likes to say it drives him crazy when people describe his home as halfway between San Francisco and Lake Tahoe.

"We should be a destination place," the 42-year-old former Phoenix Suns point guard said, adding that he envisions a place where he can raise a family while, at the same time, entertain visitors like his former NBA teammates with upscale shops and restaurants.

Fargo is quick to point out that the improvements made under her eight-year tenure show her ability to move Sacramento forward.

"If you could have seen midtown or downtown in 1989 compared to where it is now, you would be converted," said the 55-year-old community activist, who was forced into a run-off against Johnson when neither candidate won more than 50 percent of the vote in the June mayoral primary.

The attention on Johnson's bid hasn't all been positive. After spending the primaries fending off old sexual abuse charges, Johnson is now wrestling with a federal investigation into St. HOPE, a nonprofit community development corporation he started after retiring from the NBA in 2000.

St. HOPE is credited with transforming the failing Sacramento High School into a successful charter school and drawing businesses to the commercial heart of Oak Park, one of the city's roughest neighborhoods.

But federal officials say Johnson used AmeriCorps grants to pay volunteers to engage in political activities, run personal errands and even wash his car. The agency that oversees the grants has barred Johnson from receiving federal money while an investigation is under way.

Johnson, who handed over management responsibilities for St. HOPE this year so he could focus on his campaign, insists he's done nothing wrong. He said the federal ban would not impact his ability to govern as mayor because the city manager handles city finances.

"Rest assured, I will fight this tooth and nail. I will instruct my staff and attorneys to formally fight these crazy, meritless allegations," said Johnson, who was known for being scrappy on the basketball court.

The next mayor of California's seventh-largest metropolis will preside over some of the nation's biggest urban infill projects and the potential development of a new basketball arena, as well as carry the burden of battling a $58 million deficit, crime, homelessness and ongoing education concerns for the city of 475,000.

Johnson also wants to shake up the city's "weak mayor" structure, in which the mayor holds just one of nine votes on the City Council and the city manager retains authority over hiring and firing employees. Calling Fargo too passive, he's urged city leaders to reconsider the mayor's powers.

Fargo, who's positioned herself as a consensus builder on the council, said Sacramento already has made tremendous strides, adding 50 restaurants, 75 police officers and three fire stations in recent years. She supported a failed proposal to raise sales tax to pay for gang-intervention programs, one that Johnson called "half-baked" for lacking goals.

Johnson argued that crime has gone up under Fargo's administration, saying residents are "just as likely to be robbed and murdered in the streets of Sacramento as we are in Los Angeles." According to the latest federal crime statistics, Sacramento residents are less likely to be murdered than those in Los Angeles, but more likely to be robbed.

Homelessness became another major issue in the campaigns last month after a homeless woman was charged with shooting a disabled state worker at a bus stop.

Under Fargo's tenure, the city has embarked on a 10-year campaign to end homelessness by establishing a stock of affordable housing. Johnson said he wants to set up a mayoral committee to bring "tough love" to a portion of the homeless population that resist shelters and have established tent compounds along the city's riverfront park. Reclaiming the park north of downtown could help attract investors, he said.

Other projects under way in downtown also present opportunities for the next mayor. A $6 billion plan to build 15,000 homes on a former rail yard, deemed a Superfund site, has the potential to rebrand not just the city, but the region, developers say.

"This project is really a vehicle that requires strong support from the mayor," said Suheil Totah, vice president of Thomas Enterprises Inc., which owns the rail yard property.

Its progress will be carefully watched, especially after voters in 2006 rejected a sales tax increase that would have funded a new sports arena for the Sacramento Kings basketball team there. Talks for a new Kings arena have since moved to the fairgrounds across town, which poses another development opportunity for the city.

After Johnson won 47 percent of the primary vote to Fargo's 40 percent, even some of the incumbent's supporters have conceded that a fresh face appears to be resonating with residents.

"I think he'll win," said Susie Shields, a 43-year-old Fargo supporter. "He's very confident. And charm goes a long way."