Sacramento Does Deserve Better-Someone other than Mayor Kevin Johnson

Friday, April the 13th 2012 was one of the darkest days for Sacramento Kings fans.   The  owners of the team,the Maloof  family decided at the eleventh hour to bow out of the downtown arena deal.  The family reportedly had full access to the complex financing plan before the handshake and most certainly before the public announcement  at the Power Balance Pavillion with the  Mayor on the 28th of February.    Kings fans, supporters and I believe NBA commissioner David Stern was betrayed by the family.

The  Maloofs PR team is in high gear as their future is uncertain, Anaheim isn’t a done deal.   Their spin machine is releasing details of the deal.  Its seems the deal was hastily assembled with one key feature missing… a safety net.     Without the safety net, taxpayers would responsible for all Arena construction increases and overruns, not the NBA, AEG, or the Maloof’s, the taxpayers.  In an area where there is no infrastructure.   A city with an 40 million dollar deficit.

With nearly half the league in financial trouble,  the NBA  has moved on the  other wild fires. Last year the Kings ,assumed Anaheim was a done deal, only to find themselves in Sacramento another year.  Last year, the league sent their best and brightest to help repair relations between the family and Sacramento.   This year they are on their own.  As an NBA brand the Maloof’s is damaged,there is also collateral damage at City Hall. notably Sacramento’s Mayor Kevin Johnson.

From the moment he was elected Mayor, priority one has been Building an new arena downtown and retaining the Sacramento Kings.  SEE: http://sacratomatovillepost.com/2011/03/11/18-days-prioritizing-mayor-kevin-johnson/

At the end of his first year of  Mayor,  Sacramento Bee’s Editorial Writer  Marco Bretro said Johnson has been mayor for one year now, and at 43, he is a young man in a new game. KJ oozes vitality. Yet Johnson’s gleaming potential is stunted again – though this time it’s not physical injuries holding him back. It’s emotional immaturity.BKJ should have found a way to strengthen his powers as mayor without making the issue radioactive. But he hasn’t because Johnson is not a very good politician right now. He’s divisive by nature.Johnson’s way is to try to change city rules to give him sweeping powers: his way or the highway.If he were a skillful politician, giving him tons of juice wouldn’t seem scary. But he’s not, so it is.

It is difficult to find accomplishments during the Mayor first three years..

When our homeless problems went global,  their were workshops, and citywide discussions.   For a few years there were local blog posts suggesting police were beating and harassing homeless people,discarding there possessions.

Last year an attorney representing the homeless successfully sued the City of Sacramento.

In February of this year the United Nations  Human Rights Council has issued a four-page memo warning Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson that, in evicting Sacramento’s homeless from “tent cities” and thus denying them access to clean water, local officials could be violating their human rights under international law.

In his 2012 State of the City the mayor writes…………

But first, if anyone who thinks we aren’t in a dire situation, let me remind you of a few key facts.
We have one of the most negative business climates in the country. A recent survey ranked us
99th out of 102 cities. We are the sixth worst large metropolitan area in the country when it
comes to unemployment with 10.9% of our community without jobs. And, we have the tenth
highest foreclosure rate in the country. Sacramento homeowners are receiving foreclosure
notices at nearly three times the national average
So let me be clear that the economy is bad everywhere, but it’s worse here. No one has escaped
it. And we are in a near impossible situation. 

The next two pages 25% of the address talks about The Downtown Arena.  It doesn’t mention any accomplishments, or specifics in address’ the needs of the city, jobs, or building a climate where business feels welcomed here.   Missing, are specifics in closing the cities deficit and restoring service.

Misplaced Priority’s

From the beginning, Mayor Johnson believed a Professional Sports Franchise was critical to a city aiming to be world class.

For the other 96% of Sacramentians who has never attended a game, it is school’s,safety, jobs and quality of life .

Large companies have bypass our city limits for years, Roseville,Folsom, Rancho Cordova,Elk Grove and with on West Sacramento clearly positioning itself as a player, they may continue through the decade.

The Mayor insist’s he will press on with a downtown arena without a major tenant.  Perhaps it ego, or the legacy (his name would be forever associated the building he believes the city needs)  he wants the Arena.   Our very fragile economy with even fewer police fireman and services be dammed.

One hour south of Sacramento is the city of Stockton.  Stockton had a dream, build and Arena and Ballpark Entertainment Venue and people will come.   That was several years ago.   It is a beautiful complex.  Not a single company has relocated to Stockton, and city in default.

It’s seems our mayor is determined to build a shiny new arena and follow suit.

He’s divisive by nature.Johnson’s way is to try to change city rules to give him sweeping powers: his way or the highway.If he were a skillful politician, giving him tons of juice wouldn’t seem scary. But he’s not, so it is.   (Marcos Breton)

Cityfella

Marcos Breton: Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson is his own worst enemy12/09

http://www.cityofsacramento.org/mayor/documents/2012_MKJ-State-of-the-City.pdf