As you may or may not know, weak Mayor Kevin Johnson took the initiative to launch his own arena task force (known as the Strong Arena Proposal or “SAP” here on Joe Sac). Last year he announced his plans to an unimpressed city council, and then proceeded to solicit seven viable plans which were recently presented in gala fashion at an evening city hall event fit for a King Fong.
For a brief moment in time, it appeared as though the stars were finally beginning to align for Johnson, especially when it was divulged that none of the proposals demanded even a dime of public funding. Johnson seemed to have pulled off the impossible–and he didn’t even need to fly to Vegas to get it done!
Enter city council dead weight Robert “I-still-hate-you-for-winning-the-election” King Fong, and CA Assembly hopeful Kevin McCarthy in last week’s council meeting. In my opinion both did their best to stage a hostile takeover of SAP in last week’s meeting (watch here: http://sacramento.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=8). Given their painfully awkward attempts to remain PC while implicitly ripping Johnson (and SAP chairman Chris Lehane), it’s obvious to me they got together before the meeting and agreed on a strategy (which was to direct city planner John Dangberg to analyze the leading land swap proposal supported by the Maloofs and the NBA).
Johnson isn’t happy about this development–or the council members’ behavior on the dais last week. He refers to Fong’s awkward, rambling, implicit diatribe as “charades and games” and smacks McCarthy down for his character assassination of Lehane. I agree with Johnson wholeheartedly on both counts. Fong clearly has a well-documented problem with speaking in direct terms, and McCarthy was absolutely WRONG for dissing Lehane. In fact McCarthy owes Lehane and the public an apology in my opinion. That is not conduct becoming of a city council member (let alone a member of the Assembly!)
So what gives? Why are are Fong, McCarthy and co. suddenly so passionate (and angry) about SAP? Well DUH! Because it’s SUCCEEDING and their names aren’t on it! Hello!
I suspect King Fong and McCarthy can’t stand the thought of Johnson pulling this off without their “help.” Forget the fact that Johnson laid out a clear plan from the beginning and said he was going to bring the leading proposal to them for support. Forget the fact that Johnson is the ONLY PERSON IN SACRAMENTO HISTORY who has led an effort that produced proposals that don’t demand public financial support. Forget the fact that the council has FAILED miserably to work with the Maloofs and/or the NBA and/or local developers to produce a viable proposal. Forget the fact that the SAP’s staff has worked tirelessly on the public’s behalf to come up with a plan that would undoubtedly be a GOOD THING for Sacramento. It seems to me, to McCarthy and Fong, the only thing that matters is that something good is happening for Sacramentans and they have absolutely NOTHING to do with it.
But wait a minute here. Is that so wrong? Perhaps King Fong and McCarthy have a point. Is this just another exclusive Johnson crusade intended to boost his ego and approval ratings, council be damned? Personally, I don’t think so–BUT I can see how some might get the PERCEPTION that it is. One could argue Johnson should have anticipated who his most vocal critics would be, then actively solicited them to PARTICIPATE on the task force team before it even launched. Johnson claimed he did that by sharing his plans early on, but Johnson apparently doesn’t understand there is a HUGE difference between sharing one’s plans and actually getting documented, BUY IN from colleagues EARLY ON to avoid this very sort of sabotage we are seeing now.
Granted, McCarthy is very immature and unprofessional at times, and King Fong clearly has great difficulty in communicating honestly and openly (I agree with Johnson that his “games and charades” are getting old), but I believe the in-fighting we’re seeing now is the result of poor communication between Johnson and the council representatives, Watching the videos one gets the feeling these people do NOT routinely and actively sit down and problem solve together. It seems there is a lot of backstabbing, gossip, and private meetings going on in silos. All of them are saying the public is confused. Yes, we are. We don’t understand why the council doesn’t work together as a TEAM to solve problems for Sacramentans. We don’t understand why politics are OBVIOUSLY more important to council members than the common good.
Here’s to idea of teamwork to get this arena deal done for Sacramento. Try it people, you might like it.
Hi Mark- Good for you that you search for the positive with Johnson. He does have some things that I can’t knock -like enthusiasm and charisma. That’s where the positives stop for me. I thought Fong did a good job against Johnson at the meeting. Fong made some good points about how, once again, KJ did not collaborate and created “His” arena task force which absolutely does not speak for the city and Fong’s right, it gets confusing. What KJ is doing is trying to be a strong mayor when he officially isn’t. He’s doing whatever he wants without considering that he’s one of a group who are supposed to make decisions together. He is a cancer. Plain and simple. He’s polarized this council and has infected everyone with his disease.
Please remember KJ’s patterns again. Fong is very familiar with KJ and the way he works. Fong used to be a really big fan of KJ when he was on the school board and KJ wanted them to give him Sac High. Fong was dazzled by KJ’s promises and platitudes. KJ came in, with guns blazing, running over the community and circumventing the normal process for starting a charter school. He warned that it was “urgent” and the community couldn’t wait for the slow wheels of change. Status quo, blah, blah, blah. He had big plans and promises. Fong fell for it. After that huge mistake, I believe that he knows just what KJ is capable of on a level that many do not know. I want him on the council. He will not fall for KJ’s false humility. He’s learned his lesson and like many of us, can read KJ’s patterns like a book. Please just BEWARE.
Hi SS!
I don’t see this one that way at all. I thought KJ was just doing what the council had failed to do over and over and over. If we waited for them to do something about the arena situation, we would lose the Kings, and I think that would be terrible for Sacramento. I saw it as KJ taking initiative to get something done the council had failed to do, not being a strong mayor. He told people of his plans, he solicited feedback, he made the process very transparent. He led with influence, not power. I like the way he did this personally. I gave him high marks for this (rare, but deserved). I never saw this as Johnson’s task force. I saw it as a legit exploratory task force—–since after all the people of Sacramento (and the region) overwhelmingly want the Kings to stay if it doesn’t cost them anything.
Furthermore, it’s not like they were going to force their recommendation down anyone’s throat. Johnson had plans to bring the leading candidate to the council. Fong and McCarthy are now forcing his hand. I see how McCarthy and Fong operate: Johnson and team does all the leg work, then these two guys start grabbing the reins away from him so they can get a cut of the glory now that they see it is moving forward with such gusto. They say they “laud” the effort of volunteers. Yeah, I’ll say. They didn’t want to do any of the leg work but they sure want a piece of the glory pie. Typical political garbage
Thanks for the heads up either way.
Hey Mark
You are positive, and I can see what you’re saying. Perhaps Fong and McCarty want a piece of something they think will be successful. Honestly, though, I don’t see it that way. I see it as them reinforcing the fact that the council and the city need to work together on this issue. It’s like what Johnson did with the city attorney. He did his own thing and completely disregarded her opinion on the ‘donation’ to the SMI (which, despite his spin, was correct). He’s a rogue character which some people love, but it doesn’t work well in a democracy. Sure, he’s getting things done. OK, good. He just needs to stop this bullying. That’s why I say he’s a cancer. He’s spreading discontent throughout city hall because he doesn’t respect his colleagues. As a result, they don’t respect or trust him. That, is the problem in my opinion.
“Is this just another exclusive Johnson crusade intended to boost his ego and approval ratings, council be damned? Personally, I don’t think so–BUT I can see how some might get the PERCEPTION that it is. One could argue Johnson should have anticipated who his most vocal critics would be, then actively solicited them to PARTICIPATE on the task force team before it even launched. Johnson claimed he did that by sharing his plans early on, but Johnson apparently doesn’t understand there is a HUGE difference between sharing one’s plans and actually getting documented, BUY IN from colleagues EARLY ON to avoid this very sort of sabotage we are seeing now.”
I guess the above perception you quote is the perception I have. I am a glass is half-empty kind of person when it comes to KJ. I guess that’s a fault I have from watching him over and over again circumvent process/collaboration and it has backfired every single time. My perception as I stated earlier was that he did this on his own again. As you quote above, if he just included them in the process, it would be a great way to get things done collaboratively. What I see here is *another* opportunity wasted by Johnson. He just doesn’t learn from his previous mistakes and that’s a big problem for me.
So, I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree on this one. I respect your opinon and I’m mulling it over…
mark, good article. i have to give you credit for the fairness you have shown. eventhough you and i disagree on the strong mayor initiative, it is nice to see you looking at a specific event and judging it for what it is and not blindly bashing johnson. the fact is, KJ can follow what everyone wants him to do to a “T” and people like fong, sheedy and mccarthy will still do their best to sabotage him. everyone wants him to lead within the system, and when he does they still blast him. thank you for not making the article personal towards KJ.
Susie, I don’t think we disagree across the board. It sounds to me like we agree on some points.
I am not ruling this out 100%. This is indeed possible. HOWEVER, I think it’s more likely these two loathe the thought of KJ getting full credit for leading the SAP. And again, it’s not like these two (and the city council at large) were not going to be a part of this. KJ had full plans to bring them the proposal his task force supported–at which point they presumably would play an integral role in executing the plan. And to be clear, I am all for preliminary research as Fong suggested, but that research needn’t be specific to ONE proposal as Fong also suggested. That’s the part where I feel he is thunder-stealing. Neither Fong nor McCarthy come off as genuinely concerned about keeping the Kings and God knows they have failed miserably when involved in the past. If this was left to them the Kings would be gone for sure. KJ stepped up and took the initiative to do what the council had tried to do before and failed miserably at. They were showing no signs of getting anything done.
Here is what the public needs to know: KJ is a former NBA player with hooks to the NBA front office.David Stern loves KJ. This is a GOOD thing for Sacramento. The council SHOULD be congratulating KJ for working so hard on this with the NBA and the Maloofs and developers and asking how they can be involved because I am certain KJ would WELCOME their involvement on the task force that is succeeding in getting this done. But no, they want to undermine him, criticize him, and even assassinate the character of the task force chairman (who should consider suing McCarthy for defamation if you ask me). Whetever KJ is or isn’t guilty of, Fong/McCarthy behavior at last council meeting was embarrassing imo. KJ was so right when he referred to the “charades and games” Fong is playing.
Jury still out on how Johnson plans to involve the council.. .but I would HIGHLY recommend he start communicating that plan …
I suppose I will agree that he is making some progress with collaboration – on the surface. He went on and on about how the public needs to hear about all the proposals so that the best decision can be made for the city. I agree wholeheartedly with that. Again, my problem is with his history. He has a problem with being hypocritical. Remember the Fargo police driver? He gave her hell for that and now that he’s mayor, of course it’s appropriate to have a police escort. He blasted discretionary funds for the council, and now, of course, he’s spending his like crazy. He all of the sudden wants to let the public/council to see everything and hear everything so that everyone can make the best decision; why, then, if he feels so strongly about this, was he trying desperately to EXCLUDE everyone on the SMI issue? Now, all of the sudden, it’s appropriate to explore and collaborate? Could he be learning something? Or, could it be that it’s on his terms and that’s why it matters…I don’t know, but I’ll give him credit for at least saying he supports including others. We’ll see if this is the real deal or just lip-service. Only time will tell.
I agree with you. I’m not sold he has turned a new leaf by any means.
I don’t know heck can a leopard change their spots? or better yet, Proverbs 27:22 “Though you pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, Yet his foolishness will not depart from him.”
rhonda, nothing like quoting the bible where it doesn’t belong. what about “judge not lest ye be judged” or “let he who is without sin cast the first stone”. if you can do better than KJ, then why don’t you run? otherwise, quit pointing the finger where it doesn’t belong. this council has been in office longer than KJ, yet you exonerate them from any blame. why is that? funny how KJ is always the rod with which your lightning hits, however he has been in office all of 14 months. the two rookie councilmembers have been in office for six years. while the rest of the council has been around since the early 2000s and four of them have been on the council since the 90s. they are the ones who have cast votes to get us to this point. why is your venom not spewed in their direction? are you really that happy with the state of the city (the state which this council by virtue of votes cast) that this council has put us in?
2112: The bible belongs everywhere especially since many are praying God BLESS America and since this is one nation under God and In God we Trust…. and I am not without sin so I didn’t cast the first stone I merely through (so far) only one stone back that Johnson has thrown to us. I’m not really trying to stone the man to death just knock some sense in his head. I don’t exonerate the council from any blame and they know it. And I’ll point my finger anywhere I choose- after all it is my finger to point. Is it funny that KJ appears to be the rod with which lightning hits or is it a shame he’s walking in the thunder, in the storm with so much metal on? My focus is on youth violence and yes, I am happy with the changes, actions…many council members are taking and will continue to take and I am unhappy with the insignificant, ineffective, ignorant…gang summit KJ threw together to be in the spotlight. In addressing youth violence Johnson is taking us backwards what he is doing we’ve been there, done that and he “simply” addresses a “complex” crisis. And I prefer to not put all my eggs in one basket as you appear to place your eggs in Johnson’s basket of tricks. And it is not venom I’m throwing at Johnson- it is truth. Venom is the deceit Johnson is spewing at us. I’m curious since you are here and on SacBee as regular Joe and on SN&R appearing to lay a foundation for KJ to stand and you write really well and have good points WHY don’t you attend city hall and share your approval of Johnson in person and voice your concerns of the council? Why won’t you write an editorial, an article….sharing your views openly even attach name/ photo because Johnson could use the support after all he hasn’t been all that transparent and many of us have lost trust in him and could begin to see (or incorrectly think) you are a person in Johnson’s camp – like kerryjustin1- of assistants, strategist and volunteers and yet another reason not to trust the man with more power
Well that’s not really fair. You could say that about anything and anyone. I see a few kids at the mall looking tore up. They are all of 14 and smoking cigs, pierced from head to toe, tats all over their neck and arms, cursing belligerently and acting fools. I say to my wife, “Man, great job parenting those kids, huh?” She doesn’t respond, “Hey Mark if you can do better maybe YOU should raise those kids yourself.” No, she agrees with me and we both shake our heads and feel bad the kids haven’t had the same loving TLC our kids get from us. After all, I didn’t sign up to be parents for everyone’s kid any more than Rhonda signed up to be mayor. She simply has an opinion about a public official (an elected one at that) , and in my opinion it’s a very valuable one.
That said, I agree about the incompetence on the city council, and I know Rhonda does as well
Thank you Mark. I really appreciate what you wrote and I am really just voicing my opinion on a “public official” and you are correct “an elected one at that”. Again thank you and you are right regarding the council.
2112; while I do share the opinion towards many of our council “I am more afraid of an army of 100 sheep led by a lion than an army of 100 lions led by a sheep.” Our council does not consist of 8 lions. And Johnson, even though he sometimes and not often enough puts on his humble mask, is far from a sheep. And, I’m not asking him to be a sheep what I demand is that he doesn’t include deceit. Too me deceit is this case is a lion. Johnson is asking for more power, claiming more accountability so he should expect more criticism aimed at him and not at the council. (Seems to me criticizing him now can help him adapt to it later). Perhaps the following quotes suit your fancy better since Johnson wants us to think he needs more power to get things done “leadership is action not position” and “a leader doesn’t create followers but creates more leaders”. And with the SMP Johnson is attempting to create followers and insists he can’t get things done without a new position. And until Johnson realizes “A good leader is a person who takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit.” this member of the public will express her opinion of this wanna be leader (oh and their are plenty more quotes I can use, rather than a quote from the bible, that you may feel belong regarding Johnson’s leadership or lack of leadership)
rhonda, the fact remains religion does not belong in government. i don’t want to make this a religious argument, so i will get to that point as quickly as possible. what religion would you choose? christianity? judaism? muslim? buddhist? you can say this country is christian, but does that mean the old testament doesn’t count then? there are too many conflicts in the bible to strictly base our government on religion. also, what god would you choose? jehovah? alah? the sun god?
what i don’t like about your comments is you only blame KJ. you may say you blame the city council, but i’ve never seen it. if you truely are fair, then you would say something like “I don’t like what KJ did, but the council should be held accountable as well”. the fact remains the mayoral position is one vote on a council of nine. the way the current charter is, nothing happens in this city without the vote of the council and we all know how long that generally takes. i highly doubt you can say this city is better of today than it was six years ago. why did i choose six years? because that is when the last change was made to this council (both fong and mccarty were elected) before that 2001, before that 2000 and then we have four (count them four, almost half) of the council has been on seated since the 90s. that means today we are reaping the rewards (or losses) of their policies and votes. now if you want to look at last year (KJ’s first year in office) the only major votes he voted opposite the council was regarding the stong-mayor initiative. that means most of the time he voted with them. again, if you don’t like he way he voted, then it is only fair to say the same about the council, which you don’t.
yes, as it stands now, he can’t get things done. why? the position doesn’t allow it. he faces a council that moves like molasses, most of the council opposed his election to begin with, and some of them have higher asperations than just this council. by the way, the SMI would only redistribute certain powers (the budget would still need to be approved by the council, major appointments would still need to be approved by the council and the council would have veto powers). geee, this sounds like another form of government that is currently employed….the federal and state governments. i don’t see you blasting obama for his lack of leadership (i voted for him and i wouldn’t blast him because like KJ, it takes time to implement things, it won’t change overnight). but the difference between the president and the current mayor is, the president has power.
for those reasons, that is why your blasting of KJ is personal. you see only him when it comes to spewing your venom and that is not right, fair (or christian) of you.
for the record, i don’t believe or not believe in religion. i don’t believe or not believe in god. frankly i don’t know either way and there hasn’t been that event that would make me choose. i do know that in order to have a functioning government, religion can’t be the basis of governing.
gotta run to a workshop but before I go my last sentence doesn’t sound right- it should read, “(oh and their are plenty more quotes I can use, rather than using a quote from the best book ever written- our bible- that can aid us in our lives, work, struggles, battles…that you may feel belong regarding Johnson’s leadership or lack of leadership)”
And we all don’t have to be mayor to be a part of the solution and even a mayor -with power- can be part of the problem. We all are a piece of the puzzle and my puzzle piece isn’t in the shape of mayor… I wouldn’t run for public office just as we need voices in office we need voices in the community to keep those in office on track…and to learn and grow together. I don’t need to shine perhaps simply flicker every now and then. And heck here, as a community member and not an elected official, is where I learned to love unconditionally and learned that many in my environment are loved conditionally- when/ if funding is available. Believe it or not I actually have love for Johnson I just have zero tolerance for his deceit.
Thanks again Mark for giving us all a voice and providing a forum to allow us to learn, read, grow together. Thank you for letting me share my voice, vent out my frustrations so I don’t dwell in anger. We’re all a piece of the puzzle and every position is of value and we don’t need titles or positions with the word “strong” in them to have strength. We are only as weak as we allow ourselves to be. Thank you for coming into my life to also bring me from victim to opponent, from weak to strong enough to carry on. God bless you my friend.
Rich, I guess I missed your comment when I previously post. But I’ll respond. I don’t really want to have a debate on religion I’m not an expert on religion or belief. People should choose whatever they feel in their heart. I’m learning from many different people of many different faiths and too be honest I’ve learned many things from people who have no religious faith at all but possess love. So, for me, love is a common denominator and for me God is Love whatever faith one has or doesn’t I am not to judge. It’s like the simple childhood prayer I was taught, “God is good, God is love” I look for Good and I look for Love. And since I have been blessed – through my own personal pain and the pain of others- to see so much good so much love from so many people – strangers with different beliefs- but responded in the spirit of love to those of us in pain – I can’t choose what people should believe in “Christianity? Judaism? Muslim? Buddhist?” because I’m- those of us in pain are- embraced by all and I’ve learned different strokes for different folks- common denominator- love. By the way, I didn’t have a problem answering the question I’m not afraid what people will think of my response. I aim to please God – not you or anyone else- so I answer with what’s in my heart. But nice try…
Each faith has value. As with everything else I have learned on this painful journey I don’t see religion as black and white either. I believe we should follow our hearts and I don’t believe their is one religion and anything else should not be valued. Oh my goodness, what God would I choose? Creator, Jehovah, Allah (can’t say I know or heard of the sun god) I believe their is one God with many names by many people and again it is what is in our heart and whatever name brings me closer to God’s grace may not be what brings another closer or visa versa so I can’t answer that question either. I can’t simplify the creator. I can’t and don’t generalize an entire country as Christian. I apologize but I don’t play with God, I don’t speak for God, and I am walking by faith and not by sight and learning to look for and seeing God’s continuous grace in my life. I apologize but I am a student on life’s journey not a teacher. Again I see right threw you and I am not afraid to answer.
I never said we should base our government on religion… It was KJ who used religion as well as crime to get into office. It was KJ who quoted– numerous times– “without a vision the people will perish” and speaks at townhall meetings… of his religious beliefs and the church he attends. Just because someone is in office at work doesn’t mean they should leave their religious beliefs at home and if he’s carrying it with him to the office I guess I expect more from him. I didn’t think religion was a light switch that we should turn off and on. I don’t expect Johnson to be perfect. I expect him to make mistakes, he’s human. But I do expect him – whether religious or not- to not be deceitful and I hold him accountable to his campaign promises of no longer politics or business as usual, transparency and accountability since HE told us of his religious beliefs. I am honoring his campaign promises- he asked us to hold him accountable- and I AM. He said he wanted to be held accountable for his actions and I am calling him out on his deceit and lack of transparency and his blatant business as usual politics.
As far as you not seeing me criticize anyone other than Johnson makes me wonder if you merely came around the scene due to Johnson. I’ve criticized many. I know a criticism I had of Sheedy was posted on this site by Mark showing the video clip. I’ve openly at many townhall meetings in public discussions criticized many if not all council and county supervisors at one point or another and gave chase to Mayor Fargo numerous times. I guess you missed it and I won’t revisit it. How can you tell me “if you were really fair you’d say…..” when you appear to not be looking for me to be fair but looking for me to take pressure off Johnson and put pressure on someone else– how is that fair? I call it a draw, you criticize the council and promote Johnson and I’ll criticize Johnson and by the way I do it without promoting- the council- I think I’m more than fair.
As far as the rest of your comment I don’t think it was for me to respond. Actually it can be considered a type of damage control. I feel it was another attempt to lay a foundation for KJ to stand on. Appears without you he might fall off his high horse. You put the info out there again – and good for you. I’m not hating on you. And to be honest, I don’t mind being used by you to promote Johnson. I’m fair. By the way, I’m not asking you to be fair. It’s your strategy do it your way.
If it’s your opinion that you “don’t think it’s right, fair or Christian of me” to voice my concerns of Johnson the way I do it, then I guess you can say we agree and point taken “…that in order to have a functioning government, religion can’t be the basis of governing.” and the government is of the people and by the people – so I shouldn’t let my religion / beliefs be the basis to prevent me from seeking a functioning government by voicing my concerns of our dysfunctional mayor.
Rich, I never intended to respond so much to your comment but I wanted to be clear in my earlier response. And you want to talk about fair?? Well you put this burger on the grill and I WILL FLIP IT. I want you and Johnson to know one more thing. When Johnson ran for Mayor he spoke of being the first black Sacramento mayor. When he won he spoke - bragged -of being the first African American mayor of Sacramento. Let me tell you something that comes with a price for me since Johnson didn‘t simply state he was going to be the first former basketball player to become mayor. But he spoke of his religion and he spoke of being the lst black mayor and I believe in GOD and I am Black and I will not tolerate Johnson being less than honest and less than transparent.
MANY young Black youth are dying and arrested and are looking up to him- looking at a face that looks like theirs- and seeing nothing. Many black organizations who address youth violence are parading Johnson to be a spokesperson to at-risk youth from low income areas. He better do more than look the part. These youth have been used for funding by so many and given conditional love by so many he better do more than use them for a gang summit- that compounded their pain – and toss them aside. They saw that he used them. He gave them hope and took it back. I told the youth in Johnson’s meeting that I would not let them be used, that I would be a voice for them. I gave them my word in front of Johnson’s vision group. And I told the vision organizers I would hold him responsible and accountable. Johnson can ask the facilitators and they can tell him what I promised I would do if I felt they were used. I gave them my word and I will keep it. They didn’t even believe me because so many have used them or only came to them so their organization will be funded.
Youth violence is youth hurting someone just like themselves- same ethnic background, cultural suicide/ genocide— Not valuing the life of someone just like themselves. I will be darn if I sit mute and let the youth see Johnson not valuing their life. How the heck can we show them their life is valuable and to value the life of someone else like themselves IF Johnson isn’t going to value their life? On behalf of Sacramento area youth I WILL LABOR TO HOLD HIM ACCOUNTABLE. It’s not personal- IT’S business- when I make a promise to the youth I KEEP IT. My word and love is all I have to give them. Johnson (not me) made himself publicly a reflection of the black community and their may be some blacks who put him on the cover of their newspaper, flaunt him around their association meetings just happy that he is black and mayor. But their are many of us some in the house and some in the fields who expect him to be far more than a picture on a magazine, far more than a minstrel singing and dancing his way by trickery and deceit.
I am from the field not the house and I will not sit by silently as a man who bragged of being the first black mayor of Sacramento IGNORES LIFE and for goodness sake ignores and dismisses FREEDOM.- it’s business. Fargo saw those of us suffering in communities divided by death and arrest that’s why I voted for her, it was obvious Johnson was too busy looking at himself to see anyone else. I expect Johnson to come out the house and into the field to see us also, otherwise he should of bragged of being the first basketball player to become mayor if he was going to be in office with trickery and deceit and claim to be a reflection of the Black community. Gang culture has masqueraded as black youth culture for too long in Sacramento and I will labor to show them black leadership verses gang membership by speaking out against Johnson’s gang like mentality, territorial mentality, conditional love UNTIL he stops singing and dancing and shows the youth of Sacramento genuine community leadership. I hope you take this back to Johnson, I’ve labored for 5 years day in and day out putting my own family aside without pay addressing youth violence and I will be darn if Johnson entering office will set us backwards to again walk on a treadmill where life and freedom will take a backseat. My concern is the youth of Sacramento and I won’t dwell on the council members (been there done that) I made a promise to a group of youth at Johnson’s gang summit and unlike Johnson I will keep my promise. You’re worried that I don’t attack the council? You are an adult- from the protected members of society- get over it. There are youth worried I wouldn’t voice my concerns with the man who made them promises and did not keep them. I’m hear for them and could care less if you feel I‘m being fair. Now when a councilmember makes a promise to the youth and use them for self-promotion you better believe they’ll hear from me too- But Johnson made this bed and Johnson will lay in it with my voice surrounding him until he gets up and begins to significantly address LIFE AND FREEDOM.
Mark, I know you said it doesn’t matter how much I write but I sincerely didn’t want to write as much as I did. And I truthfully didn’t plan on responding to Rich a second time and again writing so very much. But now that it’s out there- off my chest and a weight has been lifted- I feel much better. I realize I wrote far too much my emotions took over and I respect those who read the site and those that want limited responses and I hope they are okay with it being so long since it was addressed to Rich– with hopes that he takes it to Johnson’s camp- so hopefully they didn’t feel a need to read it. I will limit my responses to Rich from here on out since I honestly don’t think he is genuinely concerned in my opinion but appears searching for specific feedback – my foot in my mouth
and I think I pretty much said all I need to with such long post 
I see Rich / 2112 failed to answer my question on why he hasn’t gone to city hall or written an editorial but I still respected him enough to respond to his questions
ok, what i have feared would happen, happened. first of rhonda, i am genuinely concerned, why else would i be on this and other sites voicing my opinion. secondly, i don’t know who you think i am, but in no way do i have a connection with the mayor. i don’t know him,i have never met him and it is not a burning desire to meet him. in fact, if you would read my posts, i have said on several occasions this isn’t about KJ himself. it is about the system and the flaws it has. KJ will be gone at some point as mayor (for you sooner would be best, for me i like to keep an open mind and realize it takes time to change things) but the system, if not changed, will continue to bog down this city. KJ is not the best mayor this city has ever seen, and probably not in the top five or ten, but he was elected to a position that doesn’t allow for him to lead this city. and can we stop with the comparisons to the former mayor serna. he was a special individual, probably once in a lifetime person.
i am in favor of a strong-mayor initiative (it doesn’t have to be the one proposed by KJ, but some form of one). the fact that sheedy, fong, mccarty, hammond and the other yutzes on the council use their time to grandstand for the cameras, make false statements which they really don’t believe themselves but look good for the camera, and then vote all the same on any measure that is brought before them is unhealthy for this city.
you and people like you keep saying “johnson made his bed and now he has to lay in it” is absurd. frankly, the bed was made long before he got in it. he ran on a platform of change. the fact that some are suprised by the SMI or what he is doing shows how little you may pay attention to politics. why do you think he got elected? not because of his policies, but because of his dynamic personality. flat out fargo is a better politician, but she came across very arrogant and dull in the campaign and debates, whereas KJ came across with energy and excitement. and on the downward spiral this city was in during late 2008, the populus made their decision.
to finish my original argument, the fairness with which you display your anger at the mayor is very one-sided. you keep placing blame on the mayor for what he has or hasn’t done during his time in office. you blast him for even thinking about proposing a change to the charter to give the position more relevance to this city. however the mayor (current or fomer) really doesn’t have a bearing on state of the city. initiatives and spending are done by the city council and city manager. so what is your beef with the mayor? he hasn’t and can’t do anything that affects this city.
lastly, if youth (specifically african-american youth) are looking towards KJ as a role model, what has be done to disappoint? are you really going to bring up charges from arizona? i think what is happening in the homes of youth are more detrimental to their upbringing then what KJ does and what allegations occur. the fact that one out of every two marriages fail, the fact that sex is displayed on tv and music, the fact that we are in a war we can’t win overseas, or that jobs are few and far between, cuts in education continue to happen, and so on probably affect our youth more than KJ. i would bet that most people (forget youth, just people in general) know KJ is the mayor, but really don’t know what he has done or going to do or his track record. i agree he got elected mainly on his name, so what does that tell you about society in general? that isn’t KJ’s fault. i am a giants fan and barry zito was signed to a $20 million a year contract and has not even come close to living up that contract. is it zito’s fault the giants were stupid enough to offer that much? do you blame him for signing it? KJ ran and was elected, blame society not KJ for that.
great, now i am off on a tangent
. i generally use the name “2112″ for a reason. i am a large fan of the canadien rock band “Rush”. 2112 is a song based on government running the invidual instead of the individual running him/her-self. i believe wholeheartedly in the individual is on this earth for a short time and far be it from any governing agency forcing me to do anything or give up anything. this has no relevance on KJ or why i support the SMI (and let me be clear, i am not a huge supporter of KJ, but i do support the SMI because it is right for this city). i volunteer at a local continuation school not because i am forced to, but because i want to. the individual is what drives this country, not the masses. if the individual doesn’t choose to join the masses, then there won’t be any masses. one last song i want to reference is a song called “free will” by rush. there is a line in the song that says:
You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice
If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice
You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill
I will choose a path that’s clear
I will choose freewill
i look at the issue and make a decision based on the issue, not the person. don’t confuse me with the lemmings that blindly follow a political party or cult. i am an individual.
Rich, I don’t think you are concerned about my opinion therefore I don’t know why you address me. And again it appears you write not to address me but to make a point for others to read again lay a foundation for KJ to stand. I never mention Serna….. I never heard anyone say Johnson made his bed…. I wrote it in reference to my determination to hold him accountable for his self-promoted gang summit. I do not appreciate you spinning this to reflect what you desire and dismissing our genuine concerns.
You are talking apples and I’m talking oranges. I could argue you are one sided. I’m not being one sided I share in the concerns of those against the SMP for reasons other than my own. I’m on the side of LIFE and FREEDOM. I’m on the opposite side of the road while you and KJ are driving down a one way street should I jump off my side of life and freedom as a priority and leave it empty and join the side where many more will debate charter change for various other reasons? I’m not needed in your lane and I won’t abandon mine because you seem to think your one side is the only side of value. Since the SMP is a distraction an interruption in the lives of a community divided into victim and suspects and a mayor without transparency, full of deceit… I am against the SMP. People have many reasons why they are against it. I haven’t heard just one reason. And I have mine which is different than most. But it doesn’t make it of any less value. I value the reasons of everyone whether or not they value mine.
I do not blast him for even considering changes to the city. I blast him for putting priorities which affect me and those like myself- PAIN AND SUFFERING- LIFE AND FREEDOM- DEATH AND ARREST on a back burner while everything else takes priority…. I blast him for not putting emphasis or priority on a community divided into victims and suspects, divided by morgues, cemeteries, vigils, funerals, courts, jails and prisons for not having a dynamitic personality, energy and excitement in protecting the youth of this city. I blast him because “Throughout history it has been the inaction of those who could have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most, that has made it possible for evil to triumph.” -Haile Selassie And for goodness sake what you wrote is untrue- he has done something for this city and can do for the city heck if not why is he hiring 2 positions on his site, why is he working with the arts liaison, arena task force….. all without a Strong mayor form of government. Give me a break, NO I’m not going to bring up Arizona- I don’t have to- I brought up HIS GANG SUMMIT in Sacramento. This post would be even longer if I went into exact details. I’ll either write an article about it or prepare material to take to city hall and show our not so bright mayor what he can do about it and what he could have done the first year in office and with the support of the council.
Why on earth would I blame society for KJ running or being elected when my problem is with our mayor turning a blind eye and a deaf ear towards us. It is KJ I hold accountable and responsible for KJ’s ignorance in not making life and freedom a priority. In fact I hope you attend city hall next Tuesday I’ll show you my concerns and the magnitude of it and what should have been done if we had a mayor looking at ALL THE RESIDENTS OF SACRAMENTO when he claims his motto is a Sacramento that works for everyone- what the heck are we people or commodities to enhance departments or advance political careers? I wish I was privileged to just focus on a Strong Mayor Proposal / charter change but my priority is LIFE and FREEDOM. You appear to not understand I am not from the protected members of society, I am in a community divided into victims and suspects- the unprotected. I think I’ve explained my beef with the mayor and I’ve given too much discussion when we aren’t going to get anywhere with it. I’ll send you a link when I write the article but first I‘ll prepare a presentation for city hall to show our not so bright mayor how to address youth violence and public safety. . I’m not concerned in having a further discussion with a looky-loo someone who will simply find what their looking for in my comment and then add to my comment things I never wrote about to make a point for others to read. This conversation was between you and I. And you basically dismissed me but thank you because when I‘m dismissed I come back with more than a post—I come back with action. Hope to see you Tuesday and I hope you’ll read the article which will follow. I wasn’t trying to show his ignorance but I will.
ok rhonda, i will leave you to your myopic world. i think we are done here. you aren’t moving on your position (which i figured anyway) and you aren’t actually digesting what i write. therefore, i am done.
Ditto