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Friday, February 10, 2012
A CITY THAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE
by Kevin Johnson, published on December 23, 2008 at 10:05 PM
Storyline: Obama's Inaugration
Greetings from City Hall.
I've been on the job for about two weeks now. Fortunately I was able to hit the ground running with the help of a 100+ community members that were part of my transition team. They included the director of the 40 Acres Art Gallery, the director of Regional Transit, faith leaders, and bicycle advocates. As you may know, my campaign slogan was "A City That Works for Everyone," and we've started out exactly that way.
One of the first products of the transition team's work is a policy paper on transportation, which you can view on my website, www.kevinjohnsonformayor.com. Its focus is to reduce traffic congestion and promote mass transit. I'd welcome your feedback. (More policy discussions will be forthcoming in future columns.)
In the interim, I'm also moving forward with several other initiatives designed to make city government more accountable and transparent. I've begun publishing my daily calendar on the city website (the first Mayor to do so) and am holding media availabilities every week. I'm writing here on sacramentopress.com, but also in several monthly community newspapers (such as "Inside the City" and the "Pocket News"). Watch for me every Monday morning on Fox40's "Mondays with the Mayor," and on News10 "talkback live" every Wednesday at 5 p.m., where you can ask questions live online. You can also hear me on KFBK every Wednesday at 3:30 with R.E. Graswich.
On top of that, I will have open office hours for any city resident at least one Saturday each month, and a "town hall" style meeting in each city council district every month. My goal is to be accessible, and to listen (and respond) to your ideas about how to make Sacramento a world class city.
When it comes to policy, we're also moving fast. I was able to line up the nation's premier municipal budget firm to begin an independent assessment of how our city can can deliver services better. And they're doing it for free!
I'm also pleased to report that we'll be adding 11 more police officers to Sacramento streets beginning in January. I worked closely with the Police Chief and City Manager to hire these new graduates of Sacramento's police academy to help reduce the city's rising crime rate.
I'll be writing more here about policy on a regular basis -- as well as expanding the city's website to include video and interactive features (such as an online town hall meeting). In the meantime, you can get the latest news on my website, www.kevinjohnsonformayor.com and http://cityofsacramento.org/council/Mayor/press-releases.html. I welcome your feedback and insight.
In the meantime, happy holidays!
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I also would love to start a dialog here on sacpress about the use of bicycles and how the city can become even more bike friendly and bike safe.
Glad to have you contributing and happy holidays as well Kevin.
Peace :)
-Cartik
I'd like to make you aware of one of the most significant issues in the Sacramento region. The American River Parkway is the greatest natural resource in Superior California. There has been a small but committed group trying to protect and preserve the parkway much the way the Central Park Conservancy has transformed Central Park in New York into a world class park. This is an issue which requires regional cooperation of the City of Sacramento, County of Sacramento, City of Rancho Cordova and other municipalities along the parkway. To learn more you can visit http://www.arpps.org.
Happy holidays and may 2009 be blessed for you and your family!
my campaign slogan was "A City That Works for Everyone," and we've started out exactly that way.
The City Manager and the new Mayor have expressed a vision of Sacramento's future that seems to involve lots of new development. Will those projects sustain natural resources like the rivers and encourage public transportation and pedestrian and bicycle use, for example, or will they continue to promote residential and commercial development that are based cars and sprawl, leading to communities that are isolated and insular? Will we see promotion of a commercial sector that includes small scale, innovative, and local products and services or the one-size-fits-all model that's based on small margins and high volume? How will city government impact our ability to promote and develop safe, livable, sustainable, and diverse communities?
I've lived in Sacramento for nearly seven years, and I think the city's a great place to live. I've been surprised by the numbers of long-standing residents who gripe about Sacramento's supposed second-rate status. This inferiority complex about the city concerns me. Can't we see and appreciate the many characteristics that make Sacramento a unique and desirable place to live and visit? In our rush to become a "world class city" are we in danger of neglecting and losing the city's best attributes?
A city designed and executed by real estate and development interests, facilitated and promoted by the public sector (government) without community input, can never have a real sense of community. I'm hopeful that the mayor's words will be equaled by his actions.
In the mayor's race Kevin Johnson cited Phoenix as a role model for Sacramento. Have you been to Phoenix? It's a classic example of soul-less unsustainable development and sprawl. I certainly hope we can do better than that, and I believe the "Phoenix model" can only be avoided by balancing community input and interest with the profit-driven desires of the private sector.
i am glad to see Mr. Johnson is actively engaging the community . I am concerned that a large protion of his staff ( i have read the list) are attorneys. Not as many actual normal everyday worker types as i would like .. I am also concerned about the rest of council as they seem to be almost disengaged as if they dont feel a part of the new machine running the city . Note< I am not a real fan of how council has run in the past. Yet it is still the basis for how our city governement works , ( we vote for a representative & he or she in turn makes sure our ( community ) needs are met. Kevin , Please see that our council is engaged as much as you and your staff is ( as they are who we elected) not your staff...
thnx
S
Greetings Mayor Johnson, How wonderful it is to have your ear here at sacpress! Keep the communication channels open and we all win. As a bike advocate I want to direct your attention on the above website. We have too many fragmented bike lanes in our community. I realize cars are the majority and I bow to that fact. But it is my opinion that the happiness factor would rise in Sacramento if all our streets were complete for all.
Yours trully,
John Boyer
Sacbikekitchen