City Beat

In one breath, Mayor Kevin Johnson tells us how little he thinks of his competition. But then he insists his re-election campaign is not taking anything for granted.

So which is it? Both, apparently.

The mayor sent out an email to supporters this morning telling them he is "not taking anything for granted in what is expected to be a low turnout election." That statement follows others by the mayor and his campaign dismissing the quality of his challengers.

Former Mayor Heather Fargo apparently hasn't gotten over her loss to Kevin Johnson three years ago.

Fargo has endorsed mayoral candidate Jonathan Rewers in his bid against Mayor Johnson, the Rewers campaign announced. Fargo was defeated by Johnson in 2008.

"I think in the past three weeks I have proven that I am the most qualified candidate to be mayor, have presented a clear plan and agenda, have given the voters the respect they want by going to their events and asking for their vote, and now I have the endorsement of someone who has served this city as mayor and delivered," Rewers said in a statement released by his campaign.

Mayor Kevin Johnson will be in Los Angeles tonight for a fundraiser hosted by L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. But it's also an event that could have an impact on Sacramento's ongoing - although faded - arena effort.

Tim Leiweke, the chief executive of arena operator AEG, is one of the co-hosts of the fundraiser being held at The Ritz Carlton at L.A. Live, an entertainment district developed by AEG. Leiweke's company had agreed to operate Sacramento's downtown arena and Johnson is still hoping to attract the firm to the city, despite the arena effort's collapse.

Wealthy philanthropist Eli Broad - whose education reform interests are similar to Johnson's - and former L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan are also listed as co-hosts of the Johnson fundraiser.

City business groups are talking big with their wallets in support of Phyllis Newton, one of seven candidates seeking the District 4 City Council seat covering Land Park and the central city.

Better Sacramento, a group of local business owners and developers, filed paperwork on Tuesday indicating it had spent $15,546 on mail pieces and consulting in support of Newton. The organization has emerged as a political and philanthropic interest over the past year.

Newton, an attorney and director of a disaster relief organization, was also the beneficiary earlier this month of mailers paid for by the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce. The chamber spent roughly $33,000 on the mailers, according to campaign documents.

The debate over whether to ask city voters to approve of a tax increase to fund core services is heating up at City Hall.

After years of behind-the-scenes discussions between the city's labor unions and elected officials, many members of the City Council appear willing to move ahead with a tax measure on the November ballot. Two council members and one council district director told me Tuesday they believe a majority of the council is supportive of a ballot measure.

As I reported in today's Bee, Council members such as Kevin McCarty think that if the city is able to get pension concessions from its unions, the public's appetite for a new tax would increase greatly.

It's a nice perk that has quietly been on the books for a year: City Council members and the mayor don't have to pay for parking in metered spaces.

But one candidate for council thinks the arrangement is silly and would aim to do away with it if elected.

Steve Hansen, one of seven candidates running for the District 4 seat covering Land Park and the central city, tipped me off to a city policy that grants parking placards to council members, the mayor and their district directors. Using those placards, elected officials and their top aides can park for free in metered spaces - excluding blue, red and yellow zones.

First he bet Mitch Netto $1,000 he couldn't beat Councilman Kevin McCarty in the race for council District 6. Now, a union leader wants Netto to drop out of that race until he settles federal and state tax liens.

Matt Kelly, the executive secretary of the Sacramento-Sierra Building and Construction Trades Council, released a statement late Monday telling Netto, "It is no joke to refuse to pay the taxes you owe!"

Netto has federal and state tax liens against him for roughly $75,000. He said the liens were a result of identity theft issues, but has not formally challenged the accusations in court.

A political coalition formed in the wake of last summer's contentious redistricting debate is beginning to campaign behind candidates in the City Council races.

Empower Sacramento, made up of minority and community groups, announced its endorsements on the steps of City Hall on Monday.

The group is supporting developer Allen Warren in north Sacramento's District 2 seat; attorney and disaster relief organization director Phyllis Newton in the District 4 seat covering Land Park and the central city; information technology consultant Mitch Netto in the District 6 race for Elmhurst and Tahoe Park; and former NAACP branch president Betty Williams in Meadowview's District 8.

Leonard Padilla hasn't sought the support of any of the city's labor unions or business groups. He even turned down an interview with the firefighters union.

But that doesn't mean the self-proclaimed world famous bounty hunter and mayoral candidate is without endorsements.

Padilla told me this week that serial killer Wes Shermantine is supporting his campaign. Shermantine, part of the so-called Speed Freak Killers duo, is on death row. Padilla has offered to pay him to reveal the locations of further victims.

Labor unions apparently aren't too fond of Mitch Netto.

Matt Kelly, head of the Sacramento-Sierra Building and Construction Trades Council, sent an email to Netto on Wednesday offering to bet him $1,000 that he can't beat incumbent Councilman Kevin McCarty in the race for City Council District 6. McCarty is closely aligned to the city's trade unions.

The Netto campaign had invited Kelly and others to a fund-raiser hosted by steel company executive Steve Ayers and former Councilman Robbie Waters. In his response, Kelly made it pretty clear what he thinks of Netto. His unedited email read:

A new political action committee of local restaurateurs has made its first candidate endorsement.

The Greater Sacramento Restaurant Political Action Committee has endorsed Phyllis Newton, an attorney and non-profit director running for the council District 4. In addition to Land Park, that district covers midtown and downtown, where there is a high concentration of restaurants.

Seven candidates are vying for the seat.

A pair of City Council races should be a good gauge of the mayor's political influence.

Mayor Kevin Johnson is backing former NAACP branch president Betty Williams in her run against Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell for the district representing Meadowview and other south Sacramento neighborhoods.

Johnson is also supporting developer Allen Warren in the packed north Sacramento race to replace Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy, who is stepping down.

Leonard Padilla now seems convinced he'll be Sacramento's next mayor. But he graciously offers to reserve a job for Kevin Johnson.

The well-known bounty hunter and five-time mayoral candidate said as much in an email exchange with an NBA fan relations rep. Padilla sent out a copy of the email exchange today.

Padilla has objected to the public financing of a new downtown sports arena, a thought he shared with NBA Commissioner David Stern in a recent note. The NBA thanked him for his response - touching off the following statement from Padilla:

The coveted endorsement of the city firefighters' union was handed out for most of the City Hall races this week.

Mayor Kevin Johnson, SMUD director Rob Kerth (council District 2), attorney and non-profit director Phyllis Newton (District 4) and Councilman Kevin McCarty were granted firefighter support in their races in the June primary.

Interestingly, however, the union opted not to endorse either candidate running for the City Council seat in Meadowview's District 8. Neither incumbent Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell nor her challenger, former NAACP branch president Betty Williams, are supported by the union.

Councilman Kevin McCarty is running for re-election, but he's not promising voters he'd serve his entire four-year term if he wins.

McCarty relayed that message to The Bee's editorial board Thursday. He is running for a third term in the district representing Elmhurst, Tahoe Park and other neighborhoods on the city's southeast side.

But McCarty also narrowly lost a bid for the state Assembly in 2010 and still has his eye on the Capitol. If a few dominos fall his way - state Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg is termed out in 2014 and Assemblyman Roger Dickinson is thought to be eyeing that Senate seat - McCarty is expected to make a run at the Assembly again.

A powerful business interest group has poured $30,000 into the campaign for Betty Williams, the former NAACP branch president trying to unseat Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell in south Sacramento.

Better Sacramento is paying for field walkers and lawn signs to support Williams, according to a campaign finance report released Thursday. That cash infusion represents a huge investment in a district where only 5,000 people voted in the 2008 primary.

The contribution is also a sign of how contentious this campaign is becoming.

Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell said today this will be her final campaign.

Pannell, 63, who joined the council in 1998 following the death of her husband, Sam, told The Bee's editorial board that if she wins re-election in the June primary, her next term will be her last.

Pannell is facing Betty Williams, the former chair of the local NAACP branch, in the June primary. Her district covers Meadowview and other parts of south Sacramento.

Mayor Kevin Johnson will not attend tonight's candidates forum in River Park after all.

"Due to ongoing events related to the arena, the mayor will be unable to attend tonight's event," Johnson's chief of staff, Kunal Merchant, told me. "We look forward to the opportunity to speak with the group at another date."

The River Park Neighborhood Association sent out a press release this morning stating that Johnson and candidates Leonard Padilla and Jonathan Rewers would attend a candidates forum. It sounds like only Padilla and Rewers will be there. The forum is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Fremont Presbyterian Church, 5770 Carlson Dr.

Now we know what Leonard Padilla thinks of this arena deal. And so does the NBA.

Padilla, the famed bounty hunter who is running for mayor this spring for a fifth time, sent a note to NBA Commissioner David Stern saying that he "will make every effort as a candidate for mayor and as mayor to prevent any public funding for the arena."

"I sincerely believe that if the NBA, the Kings, AEG want an arena in Sacramento, be my guest and build it without any public funding," Padilla wrote.

The folks in Land Park, downtown and midtown better get ready for an intense campaign season.

The city's big special interest groups are splitting their allegiances in the race for the area's open City Council seat, meaning multiple candidates are going to have the cash and manpower to mount intense campaigns before the June primary.

In a somewhat unusual situation, interest groups that normally align with one another are disagreeing on whom to support. Seven candidates are running for the District 4 seat being vacated by two-term Councilman Rob Fong, and residents of the district are already reporting multiple visits to their homes from many candidates.

Once again, a seat on the City Council is a hot ticket.

A packed field of 17 candidates has filed to run for council in the June primary. Another four candidates are running for mayor.

It was a similar story in 2010, when 16 candidates ran for council. That election marked a shift to more competition in local politics. As recently as 2008, the four council members who sought re-election ran unopposed.

All of that Sandy Sheedy For Mayor talk has fizzled.

Sacramento's chief arena opponent has apparently opted not to run against Mayor Kevin Johnson, despite a lot of chatter at City Hall today that she would. The deadline for Sheedy to file her campaign papers has come and gone. For the record, she never returned my phone call today.

As a result, Johnson will run against five candidates with little or no political experience.

There's a lot of talk at City Hall today that Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy is going to jump into the mayoral race.

Several insiders told me today that Sheedy is considering running against Mayor Kevin Johnson and that she plans to file her campaign documents today. If she is, she has until 4:30 p.m. today to file those papers to meet the city's deadline for mayoral candidates to declare.

Sheedy has not returned my phone call seeking comment.

Mayor Kevin Johnson finally has an opponent.

Sacramento bounty hunter and four-time mayoral candidate Leonard Padilla told me today he is definitely running against Johnson after pulling candidacy papers from the city clerk's office on Tuesday. Padilla's main campaign issue: the arena.

"I don't want the Maloofs (who own the Sacramento Kings) given one red cent, much less a quarter of a billion dollars," he said, referring to a proposal for the city to lease downtown parking to help finance a new sports arena.

Sacramento Supervisor Phil Serna said today he is not running for mayor, ending weeks of speculation that he might take on Mayor Kevin Johnson.

In an email sent to the media, Serna said he wanted to remain focused on "job growth in places like McClellan Business Park, Downtown Sacramento and the Power Inn Corridor, and I'm dedicated to protecting the American River Parkway."

"Running for mayor now would put campaigning over continuing to give my attention to these and other priorities," he said. "I'm not prepared to do that."

For quite some time, opponents of Mayor Kevin Johnson have sought a candidate to challenge the mayor in the June primary. While no one has formally stepped up, talks appear to be getting more serious behind the scenes.

Those talks are being charged by a poll released nearly two weeks ago - found here MayoralPoll1-31-12.pdf - that showed fewer than half of those surveyed would vote to re-elect the mayor. More than half wanted to elect an unnamed "someone else."

The poll was clearly put together - and then distributed to the media - in an attempt to convince a candidate to run against Johnson. It was funded by the Sacramento Building Trades Union.

Labor unions - those influential groups that have powered many a City Council campaign - aren't thrilled with the council's decision Tuesday night to place a charter review commission on the November ballot.

Hours after the council voted 7-2 to move forward with the ballot measure Tuesday, the president of the city police union told City Manager John Shirey he was suspending negotiations between his union and city officials. Other unions are worried about allowing an outside commission to dive into - and potentially rewrite - the way the city is governed.

The police union's argument is about dollars and cents. Mark Tyndale, president of the Sacramento Police Officers Association, said he was concerned about the cost of a commission and that he refuses "to consider further concessions that will only be used to fund the commission."

Mayor Kevin Johnson's latest strong mayor plan goes head to head with a proposal to create an elected charter review commission at tonight's City Council meeting. And the mayor is making it pretty clear where he stands.

Johnson told reporters this morning he thinks "the charter commission idea needs to be dumped." Councilman Kevin McCarty has proposed placing the creation of a charter commission on the November ballot.

"I don't think it's in anybody's best interest and I feel like it's a reaction to the initiative that I brought forward," the mayor said.

A proposed June ballot measure that would have prohibited the city of Sacramento from requiring labor organization agreements on publicly-funded construction projects has failed to gather enough signatures.

Sacramento County elections officials ruled today that 62 percent of the signatures it inspected from proponents of the Fair and Open Competition Sacramento measure were valid. Another 19 percent of signatures were from people not registered to vote and 7.5 percent were from voters registered outside of the city.

Supporters of the measure handed in 46,692 signatures to the City Clerk - far more than the 32,207 required to place the measure on the ballot. But the group fell well short of providing enough valid signatures, officials ruled.

The Sacramento City Councilman thought to have the easiest path to re-election in June may end up facing a well-heeled opponent.

Developer Jon Bagatelos - who is Mayor Kevin Johnson's chief fundraiser - appears certain to run against Councilman Kevin McCarty in council District 6, representing Elmhurst, Tahoe Park and several other neighborhoods on the southeast side of the city.

"I'm definitely going to run unless someone gives me a reason not to run," Bagatelos said this week.

A new poll commissioned by opponents of Mayor Kevin Johnson shows that fewer than half of those asked are likely to vote to re-elect the mayor. But with just five weeks left before the filing deadline, Johnson's opposition has been unable to come with a candidate.

The poll - conducted by EMC Research and paid for by the Sacramento Building Trades Union - showed 46 percent of the 400 city voters asked would vote for an unnamed "someone else" in the June primary. Another 41 percent said they were definitely or probably going to vote for Johnson.

While the mayor had a favorable rating of 53 percent, other results showed 30 percent of voters think "Johnson gets things done;" 34 percent said the mayor is "someone we can count on;" and 31 percent think he has the right priorities. The poll can be found here KJpoll1-31.pdf.

One of the region's most respected political groups is supporting placing Mayor Kevin Johnson's revamped strong mayor plan on the November ballot.

The League of Women Voters' board voted to support placing the proposal on the ballot. The board has not decided whether it supports the measure.

The City Council is scheduled to debate whether to place the measure on the ballot next week. However, there appears to be more City Council support for a ballot measure seeking to create a charter review commission to explore changing how the city is governed.

The historic transformation of the City Council could mean a shift in the balance of power at City Hall.

With the announcement Monday that Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy would not seek re-election - combined with Councilman Rob Fong's decision to also step down this year - six of the nine seats at the council dais will have different representatives from just four years ago. That's an incredible shift for a City Council that had been a safe haven for incumbents for nearly 20 years.

With so many seats changing hands, it's worth exploring who benefits.

Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy will not seek re-election in the June primary.

Sheedy told me this morning she would not seek a fourth term for the seat representing north Sacramento neighborhoods in order to spend more time with her family.

"Ted and I have given over 30 years of public service and it's time for us to do this together," she said, referring to her husband, Ted Sheedy, a former county supervisor. "It's time get back to my family."

While City Council support for the move appears limited, Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy's request for a June ballot measure asking voters if they approve of using public parking assets to help fund an arena is scheduled to be debated by the council on Tuesday.

Only Sheedy and Councilman Darrell Fong have expressed support for a public vote on the arena funding package. The council has until next month to place a measure on the ballot.

Sheedy has emerged as the most vocal opponent of a plan to lease city-owned parking facilities and enforcement operations to help finance a new downtown sports and entertainment center.

As he gets ready tonight to ask the City Council to place his latest plan to overhaul the City Charter on the June ballot, Mayor Kevin Johnson has gained the support of one of the city's most influential political figures.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said Monday he was endorsing Johnson's plan - dubbed the Checks and Balances Act of 2012 - saying it is "a solid and responsible proposal."

However, while Steinberg's support is a boost for the mayor, the local Democratic Party remains critical of the mayor's plan.

He doesn't have a serious opponent, but that hasn't stopped Mayor Kevin Johnson from amassing a large war chest for his re-election effort.

Johnson's campaign chief Steve Maviglio told me this morning that the mayor raised $546,775 in 2011. Campaign finance figures will be released later this month for all candidates involved in city races.

The fundraising total leaves Johnson with $410,385 on hand, according to Maviglio (Johnson still owes himself $500,000 from a loan he made to his 2008 campaign).

Two former mayors are supporting Mayor Kevin Johnson's latest proposal to overhaul the city constitution.

Former Mayors Phil Isenberg and Jimmie Yee are endorsing Johnson's plan and will serve as "honorary co-chairs" of the measure's political campaign, according to a news release sent out by the campaign this morning.

Under the plan, Sacramento would be governed by a "mayor-council" form of government, transitioning from the current system in which the unelected city manager handles most day-to-day operations.

Yet another candidate has jumped into the race for the City Council seat representing downtown, midtown, Land Park and the River Oaks section of South Natomas.

Terry Schanz, a Land Park native and the legislative director for Assemblyman Isadore Hall, D-Compton, announced today that he was running for the seat being vacated by Councilman Rob Fong.

Schanz joins downtown advocate Steve Hansen, Land Park attorney Phyllis Newton and city planning commissioner Joe Yee in the race.

A phenomenon seen often in East Coast cities is developing in Sacramento politics.

Pastors and ministers of mostly African American churches have become a new special interest group in the city, endorsing two City Council candidates in the June 2012 election and Mayor Kevin Johnson's latest proposal to change how the city is governed.

I'll have more on the trend in a story printed in a few days in The Bee. But for now, I wanted to throw out some observations from the reporting I've done so far.

Supporters of Mayor Kevin Johnson's latest effort to revamp the city's governing structure released the findings of a survey today that shows support for both the mayor and the proposal.

A survey of 504 likely city voters by pollster FM3 showed 63 percent favored the "Checks and Balances Act of 2012." A memo summarizing the poll's findings was released to the media and supporters of the proposal, which can be found here: MaslinPoll.doc.

Voters particularly liked giving the mayor the authority to propose the budget, subject to City Council approval (67 percent support); giving the mayor veto authority over budget items, subject to council override (67 percent support); and having the mayor and council jointly appoint the city manager, as they do now (66 percent support).

Mayor Kevin Johnson today proposed an overhaul of the way the city is governed.

Well, sort of.

Johnson was noticeably absent during a morning press conference at which the "Checks and Balances Act of 2012" was announced. The mayor will ask the City Council next month to place the measure on the June 2012 ballot.

North Sacramento developer Allen Warren will announce this weekend that he is formally joining the race for the City Council seat currently held by Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy.

Warren will make the announcement on Sunday at a 3 p.m. event at Carol's Books on Del Paso Boulevard. He'll be joined by his mother, extended family members and longtime friends from the neighborhoods that make up the north side district.

Warren is part of a packed field running against Sheedy in the district representing North Sacramento, Del Paso Heights and many other neighborhoods north of the American River. Sheedy is running for a fourth term.

Mayor Kevin Johnson is proposing a June ballot measure to overhaul the city's constitution, a plan that is expected to include a strong mayor initiative and a proposal to create an independent redistricting commission.

Johnson will ask the City Council at a Jan. 17 meeting to place the measure on the June ballot.

The mayor requested that council discussion at the end of Tuesday's City Council meeting. He said his supporters have drafted the language for the plan and asked City Attorney Eileen Teichert to analyze the proposal.

We don't know when Mayor Kevin Johnson's strong mayor initiative will re-emerge. But we probably have a good idea what it will look like when it does.

As I wrote over the weekend, the mayor and his advisers are debating whether to revive the strong mayor proposal for the June primary election or hold off until the November ballot.

The plan favored by the mayor's team likely resembles the proposal they floated last summer, when the City Council rejected Johnson's wishes to have an initiative drafted by the city attorney.

It should come as a surprise to no one: The city's firefighters and many in the region's development community are throwing their support behind Mayor Kevin Johnson in his re-election bid.

He's still having trouble with some members of his own political party, however.

Recent endorsements of Johnson by the firefighters and builders follow the support of many well-known elected officials in the Democratic Party that I will report on in an upcoming Bee story.

Even as he gets the support of those elected officials, Johnson is still having a hard time with the local Democratic clubs and the unions that are closely aligned with those organizations. The reasons are varied - some of them are political, some are personal - and I'll explore those reasons in greater depth in my article.

Armed with momentum early in the election season, the city's main political organization representing the LGBT community made its endorsement this week in a closely-watched City Council race.

The Stonewall Democrats - the largest Democratic club in the region - endorsed City Council candidate Steve Hansen this week in the race for District 4. That seat, covering midtown, downtown, Land Park and the River Oaks neighborhood of South Natomas, is being left vacant by two-term Councilman Rob Fong.

Stonewall followed that endorsement with a $2,500 donation to Hansen, a downtown resident and advocate.

Another former councilman is making a run to reclaim his seat a decade after leaving office.

Joe Yee, who served on the council for seven months in 2000, announced this week that he will enter the race for the District 4 seat being left vacant by Councilman Rob Fong.

Yee, an architect and the chair of the city's planning commission, was appointed by the City Council to represent District 4 in 2000 when Jimmie Yee was named mayor following the death of Mayor Joe Serna Jr. Jimmie Yee was the area's councilman before and after Joe Yee held the seat (the two men are not related).

A political committee of local business owners - a group that has been critical of many sitting council members - conducted a poll of Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy last month that showed 35 percent of those interviewed in her north Sacramento district were likely to re-elect the three-term incumbent.

The poll - commissioned by Better Sacramento, a group of local business leaders previously known as the Sacramento 60 - was conducted between Oct. 19 and 21. That's around the same time Sheedy did her own poll of city voters that showed most favor a vote on any proposal for a new downtown sports arena involving the use of public assets.

Of the 300 voters interviewed, 88 percent said they had heard of Sheedy, according to a memo detailing the results of the survey by well-known pollster Jim Moore. While 35 percent said they would vote for her, 43 percent said they would prefer "someone new."