Poor Mayor Johnson is taking hostile fire again. Shots rang out all over the media kingdom today when two “ranking” [Republican] senators released information gleaned from an earlier investigation of St. Hope. Specifically the report states Mayor J offered to pay a young woman $1,000 per month in return for her silence about a groping charge she had leveled against the former St Hope boss.
To compound the issue for Johnson, none other than his fiance, Michelle Rhee, is alleged to have played–as one commenter quipped–”the cleaner” for Johnson when word got out about the girls’ accusations against him.
Rhee’s alleged involvement wouldn’t be too remarkable if it weren’t for the fact that she was a St Hope board member at the time, and is alleged to have told at least one employee that she was making the allegations her “number one priority.”
If you can’t read between the lines, the implication here is that a St Hope board member entrusted to do the right thing for the kids at all times MAY have helped a high ranking school official accused of groping one of them avoid prosecution. I’m not a legal expert by any stretch, but me thinks such an act would fall under the umbrella of obstruction of justice, if not aiding and abetting. Perhaps there would have been an element of conspiracy present as well.
At the time, Rhee was on the board of St. Hope. A former St. Hope employee who reported one of the allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct by Johnson told Walpin’s investigators that Rhee “learned of the allegations and played the role of a fixer, doing ‘damage control,’” the congressional report says. -Washington Examiner
But come on you thrill seekers, who are we fooling here? Certainly not the likes of the good mayor’s ardent supporters who will tell you this is all ancient history, and has been approved, stamped, and certified squeaky clean by none other than the Sacramento Police Department and the infallible U.S. Attorney. With typical Mayor Johnson flare Ms. Rhee dismissed the report today as a “rehash[ing] of old allegations that have long since been dismissed and deemed meritless by local and federal law enforcement officials, including the Sacramento Police Department and the U.S. Attorney.”
So there! You nosey, blood-thirsty, rubbernecking, sensationalist voter vermin! As teens say these days, “You got told, son!” (Don’t ask). It’s high time you idol shunners get off your political high horse and do like the Romans do and celebrate the Mayor’s passion. Get with the program, comrades! And while you’re at it, you need to give the mayor’s lady props for assimilating the SunKing vernacular so quickly. She talks like a seasoned Johnson PR vet! Goes to show the best way to learn a language is immersion. Her statement is sharp, efficient, and bluntly dismissive–in other words it has all the markings of the ubiquitous Johnson name brand Sacramentans have grown accustomed to. In other words, she got game. Somewhere Col. Hannibal Maviglio must be cracking a proud smile.
On a related note, judging from the comments in response to this latest accusation against Johnson on the Sacramento Bee’s site, it appears as though Johnson’s online defensive contingent has expanded considerably since the last accusation outbreak. And to think Johnson wasn’t even the primary target of this report. Clearly the senators aren’t as interested in shining the light on Johnson as they are in shining it on President Obama (who suspiciously fired a senior federal investigator who had called for a criminal investigation into Johnson’s conduct). But then who needs ballistic testing when you can just go ballistic? Work smarter, not harder, people. Geez. I have to teach you everything.
And then there is the lowly public. Most of us just want the truth, but that appears to be a tall order when it comes to anything germane to the Mayor Johnson experience. Why oh why do we raise questions and call for investigations? Boredom? Jealousy of Johnson? Spite? Morbid fun? Of course not. We seek truth simply because we are compelled to. We are programmed to. We needn’t make any apologies for that. I know I won’t.
On second thought, perhaps a little fun is in order. All this talk about ethics (cleverly disguised as mere political banter by those super clever types) is getting to be a bit of a bore. Perhaps some enterprising businessman will think to turn the KJ experience into a ride at some amusement park. I envision it replete with soaring peaks and low lying valleys like the graphic at the beginning of this article. My son says his favorite part of riding a rollercoaster is that point at the apex where the cars are suspended for a few seconds as they transition between climbing and falling. He says those waning seconds ticking off immedfiately before the cars succumb to gravity are “soooo suspenseful.” I suppose that would be an apt description of the Kevin Johnson mayoral experience thus far.
Source: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/Sex-scandal-could-threaten-Rhees-school-reforms-70658402.html
- PDF: View the exhibits forwarded by Inspector General Gerald Walpin to the U.S. Attorney’s Office (.pdf)
- PDF: Phoenix police sex-crime unit investigation report of Kevin Johnson from 1995 (.pdf)
Hello Mark. Here we go again. I think the links the Bee provided are important for people to review so that they can come to their own conclusions but I’m with you on this. Yes, Rhee and KJ are cut from the same cloth indeed. Steve M is spewing and spitting the “tired old allegations” line. This is meritless blah, blah, blah. My friend who used to work at St. HOPE said that at their meetings, King KJ would instruct them on what they were to say to the media. He had the talking points printed out for all to memorize. The cult followers would oblige. My friend who dared question Mr. Johnson had an encounter with Ms. Rhee at Sac Charter. Here’s what she had to say about her encounter with Ms. Rhee:
Michelle said, ” There are no teaching positions for you here. If you want to teach, you need to go elsewhere.” So I did. I got an up-close look at her “damage control” tactics. I had never met the woman before that. That was our first and last meeting. She called me into Kevin’s office and threatened me. She is over the top crazy with power and being right. She’s scary. She and Kevin are hyper focused on the mission to the point of being blind to everything
else….like the truth….and the law.
Kevlar Johnson (kudos on the moniker BTW
) will get away again, unscathed. People just don’t care to educate themselves. That is the very reason that people like him and Michelle Rhee come into power. They dazzle, they charm, they manipulate, all in the name of helping the children – which, of course, gives them a free pass.Yuck.
Hi Susie. I added the Bee links for good measure.
I don’t think this one is going to go away as the other ones have. The President should have never got involved. Bad idea. I’m still shocked he fired Walpin. I think it’s an outrage and itself could be considered a form of obstruction.
I believe there is at least one landmine hidden out there. One day someone’s going to trip on it, and no amount of damage control is going to be able to put it all back together again. It’s inevitable. The truth always floats to the top. Thank God the truth is buoyant. Just ask Scott Peterson.
I am not quite sure how Johnson’s lurid actions continue to not be prosecueted. Why did the US Attorney not fully investigate these charges,(what happened with the Arizona case Fargo tried to exploit), and stated yesterday that he has done nothing wrong, when Steve M. says it is just another hack attack from the GOP, he almost sounds credible,(made me sick to say that), no law enforcement agency has gone after him. Regardless if he never faces molestation charges, he will always be perceived with a questionable past, and his effectiveness will be compromised. I just hope the strong mayor ballot measure fails, he has neither the character or moral judgement to transform our city in such a new direction.
As I mentioned before, I voted for KJ on the dim hope that he would better address Sacramento’s serious crime problem. Fargo certainly had her merits, not the least of which was the total absence of sexual scandal hanging over her head. But I felt it was time for a change. I guess I felt I could look past the fondling of a few teenagers if Sacramento could be just a bit safer for its residents.
I am officially using you blog Mark to fall on my sword and admit that I was wrong. Dead worng.
Instead of any kind of progress on crime or anything else important, we instead have gotten front row seats for a public relations seminar. Maybe our mayoral arrangement isn’t strong enough for city the size of the Sacramento, but now we see that Johnson’s PR / BS machine far outsizes our sleepy little burg.
And another thing… what is RE Graswich actually doing down at city hall?
Let’s get something very clear….these matters were not fully investigated. The Sacramento Police Department refused to investigate the complaints of the Hood Corp volunteer who was offered hush money because she was 18 and an “adult.” Second, Kevin Johnson refused to speak to the IG investigators, and the Sacramento police never questioned him! Third, the Hood Corps girl who was offered $1,000 a month gave her statement to the IG’s office in a sworn affidavit. I’d put my money on the sworn statement, rather than Johnson comments that come by the way of a Steve Maviglio sort.
Charlie- Here is a snippet of what I wrote on the Sac Press comment (too lazy to retype). This is what I believe as far as how KJ got away with this one…
This has everything to do with the stimulus funds. This all came about because KJ was on the list to not receive fed funds. Everyone was in panic-mode – when has this ever happened? A governement official barred from fed funds just as a huge stimulus package is on it’s way… A deal HAD to be struck. It is my true belief, after reading through every single document related to this issue, that KJ held all the cards on this one. The city and US atty were desperate to get KJ off the debarment list. KJ had made aboslutely no effort to get himself off of the list- he could have appealed, he could have provided documents to dispute the complaint- he did not. Obviously he didn’t care about being on the list as it would not affect him personally. But, because the city/US Atty were so desperate and concerned for the city, KJ was able to negotiate a sweetheart deal. I have no doubt in my mind that he made some demands of the US Atty:
He didn’t get the same punishment others who have done similar (if not less serious) wrongdoing. No criminal charges…
He didn’t have to pay back 2-3x the amount that was misused – which is standard practice. He did not have to admit to any wrondoing, just sloppy bookkeeping.
He didn’t have to personally pay back any of the money (The initial payment was a loan to St. HOPE which can be paid back to KJ) even though he personally benefitted from misusing the funds.
I cannot believe people are defending him still. I believe it is “political” in that he got off virtually scot free because of his political position. Just because the GOP released the report doesn’t make it false or wrong. I read it. It’s thorough and it explains a lot. There definitely was something shady going on. There is still more to come…
Kevlar does continue to deflect the bullets. It’s what happens when you can buy silence and loyalty. His time will come.
Cogmeyer, I am with you 100%. I too must admit I was dead wrong about Kevin Johnson. I have had one year to examine his performance and I’m pretty confident he is not the man I thought he was. His detractors were right, and I was wrong. That doesn’t mean the alternative would have been any better–because neither of them seem to care about public safety, which was also my main concern–but I’d be remiss if I didn’t clearly state my error in judgment. Consider me bamboozled.
“Joe” and Cogmeyer,
You have my respect 100%.
The Susie’s, Rhonda’s, Joe’s etal have continually asked the questions… unsatisfied with the responses…continued their pursuit, and for that I am grateful.
The highest elected official of any jurisdiction, IMHO, should be first and foremost the leading steward of that community.
STEWARD-a person morally responsible for the careful use of money,time, talents & other resources especially with respect to the needs of a community…
Our mayor is the highest elected official of this city. Therefore it should follow that that person maintain the highest level of regard for the well being of the community as a whole…not just the pay to play players.
Given the ongoing actions and further revelations of the mayor and his “machine” he gets a no confidence vote from me. Less than a year into his term and appearing more & more like a “lame duck”.
I feel a painful road lies ahead, before the city can focus on it’s real needs, given the current economy, resources available and an election cycle. That being said…I know and have participated in this community for a long time. PR without substance or follow through will not be tolerated. The egress may come faster than assigned term.
“Let’s get something very clear….these matters were not fully investigated. ”
I think that is clear now. I’m not sure it was clear back in November of 2008, but it is clear now.
Look, I don’t care who you are, there comes a time when you have to pay the piper. If Kevin Johnson has been breaking laws and evading prosecution as all these allegations suggest, sooner or later….
fithgeneration
You summed it up with 4 words: “PR without substance”. Perfect
The mayor got the city as much stimulus funding as he could. He’s done as much possible on the law and order issue. You elected a mayor, not a King.
Furthermore Sacramento is just a crappy place to live. Always has been. High crime goes hand in hand with poor schools and few job prospects. No mayor can really change that in one year. It would take several terms to do that.