Sacramento mayor goes up against Kevin Johnson’s star power
Thursday, April 17th, 2008By Mary Lynne Vellinga
For merely mortal politicians trying to raise money, it’s not easy to compete against magic.
Such is the situation facing Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo, who once was expected to coast to a third term but now finds herself up against Sacramento’s biggest homegrown celebrity, former NBA star Kevin Johnson.
This evening, former Los Angeles Laker Earvin “Magic” Johnson is scheduled to headline a fundraiser for Johnson at Mason’s restaurant downtown. Admission is $75. If you want a picture, it will cost $1,150.
Wherever Kevin Johnson goes, it seems, he has friends in high places. When he traveled to Washington, D.C., this month as part of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce’s annual lobbying trip, Mayor Adrian Fenty held a fundraiser for him that netted about $35,000.
“I feel fortunate to have such great friends and colleagues who are supporting my efforts,” Johnson said in an e-mail to The Bee.
Fargo campaign manager Dale Howard described what it’s like to be up against someone with such a high-powered list of contacts, and the ability to lend – as Johnson did – his own campaign $500,000.
“It’s frustrating – not only to our campaign, but also to the voters, because they’re faced with a situation where someone is using his celebrity and his personal money to run his campaign,” Howard said.
Johnson is backed by an expanding list of Sacramento political and business heavyweights that includes Angelo K. Tsakopoulos, the region’s largest developer, and Mark Friedman, a prolific midtown developer whose family owns Arden Fair mall.
The list of people briefing Johnson on city issues includes former City Manager Robert Thomas, who resigned in 2005 under pressure from the City Council.
Friedman said he is backing Johnson in the June 3 election because he is dissatisfied with the pace of progress on such fronts as the riverfront and the K Street Mall, and sees Johnson as someone with the stature and sweeping vision that could take Sacramento to another level.
“The relationships he’s created throughout this country give him the opportunity to bring benefits back to this community,” Friedman said.
Johnson’s star power is turning the usually sleepy Sacramento mayor’s race into national news. On Friday, a crew from HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” plans to tag along with Johnson for a May feature on his candidacy.
Howard said the Fargo camp had received no call from HBO to appear as well. “I would welcome it in the spirit of equal time,” he said.
Fargo herself said she found running against a celebrity “different.”
“He’s not expected to know the answers; he’s not asked as tough questions,” Fargo complained. “Obviously he has a lot more financial resources. He does not have to worry about campaign limits. … On the upside, it also brings a lot of attention to the campaign. More people know there’s a mayor’s race in town than would have otherwise.”
Fargo has tried to prod Johnson into debating her. “I think we need to have more discussion on the issues,” she said. “In fact, any discussion on the issues would be welcome.”
So far, Johnson has agreed to participate in one debate – a 90-minute forum May 7 sponsored by The Bee, News 10 and the California Museum. Fargo said she plans to do nine debates, and would like to see Johnson join her.
Fargo has a significant roster of local backers too, even with the defection of two of her City Council colleagues to Johnson. Her supporters include City Councilman Rob Fong, developer Sotiris Kolokotronis and state Sen. Darrell Steinberg, among others.
Fargo said contributions to her campaign have picked up, totaling more than $70,000 in the past month.
Still, Johnson is likely to have a significant funding advantage. As of March 17, his campaign had spent $169,390 in 2008, compared with $42,224 for Fargo.
Between March 8 and March 17 – the most recent report filed – Johnson reported raising $26,027; Fargo, $4,900.
Johnson spokesman Alex Traverso said the campaign is pulling in significant amounts of support from its Web site, which allows people to donate online – a capability still lacking on the Fargo site.
This week, Johnson has again had to contend with allegations of sexual misconduct with teenage girls in Phoenix and Sacramento. Charges were never brought in either case, but rival mayoral candidate Leonard Padilla on Tuesday distributed the police report in the Phoenix case to the press.
Fargo and her campaign advisers have refused to be drawn into any public discussion of the allegations against Johnson.
“I didn’t read the police report; I don’t have any comment,” Fargo said Wednesday.
Johnson’s attorney issued a press release saying he is considering a defamation lawsuit against Padilla.
Friedman, who is co-chairman of Johnson’s fundraising effort, said he confronted Johnson about the issue and was convinced by his denials of inappropriate behavior. He said the allegations were the one issue that gave him significant pause about backing Johnson.
“I did ask him specifically about the rumors and allegations that have been circulating for some time,” Friedman said in an e-mail. “He told me that the matter was fully investigated and that the authorities concluded that no further action was warranted. I was satisfied with his response. I was persuaded both by his candor in discussing the matter and by the observation that the persistence of the story probably owes more to dirty politics than anything else.”
Johnson backers say they think the former NBA player’s high profile could raise the status of the mayor’s job, and by extension, of Sacramento itself.
“When he announced he was running, it was news on Chicago television,” said political consultant David Townsend, who is working for Johnson.
“Part of the excitement for me around Kevin is the kind of exposure he’ll bring to Sacramento,” Townsend said. “He knows the mayor of Washington, D.C., really well. He knows (New York City Mayor Michael) Bloomberg. He’s already talking to mayors around the country about what they’ve done that might work here.”