It's the afternoon before Election Day. Do you know where your mayor is on a key ballot measure?
Sacramento voters don't when it comes to Mayor Kevin Johnson and Measure B, the proposed rollback of utility rate increases. With only hours to go before the polls open, he's staying on the sidelines.
The measure, pushed by the Sacramento County Taxpayers League, would repeal the 9 percent hike that took effect in July, freeze rates for a year and require the city to go to voters for any subsequent rate increases that exceed inflation.
Every other member of the City Council, the city police and fire chiefs and unions and more than 30 neighborhood leaders are opposing the proposal, saying it would blow a bigger hole in the city budget. That would also make Johnson's job more difficult.
What's the mayor waiting for exactly? A poll to see which way the political winds are blowing? Not exactly the mark of a leader, or a profile in political courage.
The mayor is far more interested in races on the ballot that are beyond his direct purview. On his blog, he sought again today to generate support for his slate of candidates in the Sacramento City Unified School District: Paige Powell in Area 1, Andrea Corso in Area 2 and Shane Singh in Area 6.
"Election day in three words: Vote for school reform," the blog post is headlined. (That's four words, but you get the drift.)
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