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Friday, February 10, 2012
Johnson reviews his first year as mayor
by Kathleen Haley, published on December 2, 2009 at 10:03 PM
Storyline: Sacramento City Hall / Politics
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Mayor Kevin Johnson has been at the helm of the city for one full year.
Johnson made remarks to reporters Tuesday about his past year in office, saying that his volunteer program and a drop in crime are among his accomplishments, and that the city’s business climate and City Council disagreements are some of his shortfalls. His one-year anniversary as mayor was Dec. 2.
“I’ve been in office 365 days,” Johnson said at his Tuesday meeting with reporters. “And I’m just as excited today as when I got elected.”
Johnson cited the city’s falling homicide rate and federal stimulus funding for police as achievements. The city was awarded more than $12 million in federal stimulus funds for police, Johnson noted. “That’s going to allow us to put even more police officers on the street in the next three years,” he said.
Of the roughly $12 million for the police department, $9.5 million is for hiring and $2.5 million is for equipment.
Johnson also said Tuesday that the city’s homicide rate has dropped significantly.
Sacramento Police Department spokesman Norm Leong said Wednesday that homicides have declined this year during the period of Jan. 1 to Dec. 2.
In that timeline last year, the city reported 45 homicides, according to Leong. By comparison, there have been 26 homicides during that period this year, Leong said. Sacramento police have solved 21 homicides this year, he pointed out.
Johnson said his work on community service and volunteerism is another one of his accomplishments. His program Volunteer Sacramento had an original goal to clock 500,000 service hours, he said. Volunteers surpassed the goal and gave 800,000 hours of their time, Johnson added.
“Again, when you have a down economy, you have to call on the regular citizens to step up and they were able to do that in a very significant manner,” he said.
Johnson also identified shortfalls in his first year. The city “took a step backwards” when it came to fostering a positive climate for businesses, he said.
Michael Faust, senior vice president of public policy and economic development at the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce, said “divisive politics” - not Johnson - are to blame for the city being less friendly to business than it could be.
Under City Manager Ray Kerridge’s leadership and programs like the Facilities Permit Program (FPP), the city “became known as a great place to do business,” Faust said.
But recent battles over Nestlé’s move to Sacramento and the national press attention to the issue sends a negative message to companies that may be interested in relocating to Sacramento, he added.
“It’s been very disappointing,” Faust said.
Johnson also said working relationships at the City Council have been a problem. The council has not functioned as well as he would have liked, Johnson said.
“It’s been frustrating, to say the least,” he said. “I think we’ve allowed differences and petty issues to get in the way. I campaigned with a commitment to try to make an environment where it’s not business-as-usual. And that’s an area certainly I have to improve.”
Johnson further said he wanted to improve relationships among councilmembers.
“I’ve got to do a better job and see if I can get us more collaborative and having more of a collegial relationship when we don’t agree on issues,” he said.
Councilman Ray Tretheway responded to Johnson’s comments Wednesday.
“I think I’ve witnessed both petty issues as well as large philosophical issues,” Tretheway said. “It’s a combination.”
Tretheway said that more communication is needed. If Johnson wants to work toward better communication with councilmembers, that effort would be welcomed, he said.
“I think all of us would want to take advantage of that offer,” Tretheway said.
Tretheway acknowledged that the debate over Johnson’s strong mayor initiative, which councilmembers do not support, has played a role in terms of the council’s communications with Johnson. The strong mayor debate “has been a factor in the inability to have full communications,” Tretheway said.
As Johnson moves into his second year, he said jobs will be his key focus. “Everything I do next year will have a lens of job creation in mind,” he said. “Jobs, jobs, jobs.”
Photos by Anthony Bento.
Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.
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Let me quess, Johnson watched the same television broadcast I watched last night where the state received stimulus to create jobs and will LOOSE the money if it is not used by next year SO does JOHNSON plans to take credit for jobs when the state has been sitting on the money and will have no choice but to create the jobs..... JOHNSON SHOULD HAVE FOCUSED ON JOBS THIS YEAR-- since it was part of his campaign promise and SINCE nothing stops a bullet like a JOB and crime will decrease WITH JOBS.... JOHNSON - who wants more power to fire and hire city employees- who was in OFFICE when CITY EMPLOYEES from parks and rec LOST THEIR JOBS-- didn't find the time to focus on jobs FOR HIS CITY EMPLOYEES..... IF Johnson's lens wasn't on SELF this year ---if he wasn't self-absorbed this year- he could have focused on jobs this year. But my guess is jobs will take a backseat as he prepares for SMP or he'll rush to take credit for it to win SMP. This man is seriously skating on thin ice with me. He really needs to take a look at the man in the mirror and think before he speaks and stop INSULTING and UNDERESTIMATING THE INTELLIGENCE OF THE PUBLIC- WE SEE through his crap- IF he could look at others instead of himself then maybe just maybe he'll see how ignorant he consistently sounds. He needs to look at the man in the mirror to see just what so many of us - who do not live in KJ Land- are seeing..........................
Did he expect the city council to FOLD under HIS PRESSURE, fold into a fetal position for a man who is NOT POLITICALLY SKILLFUL, who never held office, who never attended city sessions, who had NO IDEA of what the city was doing prior to his taking office, who came into office with his own EMPLOYEES instead of working with OUR city attorney, our city counsel..... Heck JOHNSON DID NOT FUNCTION AS WELL AS WE WOULD LIKE. Oh, for goodness sake I could tear apart his whole summary of his first year in office but I know it is not necessary I have read and learned a great deal from many others who post on this site in articles pertaining to King Johnson and the castle he is attempting to create and the moat of special assistants, volunteers, advisors he has hired to protect him from the public and sway public interest and opinion.
Sac Bee 12/3
State officials expect to release a record-low amount of water to 25 million California residents next year if the drought continues, a grim outlook for local farmers and urban dwellers already struggling to conserve after three years of persistent dry weather.
Yes KJ big mistake on Nestles. Your incompetetance is un-acceptable.
It appears that statement may be based on a report issued by CQ Press:
"That survey is the annual City Crime Rankings put out by CQ Press. This year, Sacramento moved from the 51st most dangerous city in America to being the 57th most dangerous city in America."
For example, the mayor doesn’t mention that the CQ Press’ latest ranking is based on numbers compiled by the FBI in 2008, Heather Fargo’s last year in office.
Since numbers can be made to say almost anything, Johnson chose to make them say that public safety is improving on his watch. The same numbers could just as easily (and more accurately) say that Fargo made the city safer. But really, who would listen?"
And with regards to Jobs...Here's a sobering fact from yesterdays Business Journal
"Sacramento has lost about 46,500 jobs during the past year, the latest sign that the recession continues to grip the region.
The four-county region had about 129,400 people out of work in October, a 56 percent increase from the 82,900 in October 2008, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday.
The region’s jobless rate is a modern-day record 12.3 percent, compared to 7.8 percent in October 2008, according to the state Employment Development Department."
Now that did happen on KJ's watch...not that I'm going to attribute it to him personally...well maybe...nah...that would be soo Maviglish.
You would hope that the numbers can only go up from here, however with a stat like that wouldn't you think a front burner arena and strong mayor agenda would need to change?
In that timeline last year, the city reported 45 homicides, according to Leong. By comparison, there have been 26 homicides during that period this year, Leong said. Sacramento police have solved 21 homicides this year, he pointed out.
Cheers,
Kathleen
Now if you can shed some light on what happened to those pesky campaign contributors zip codes that use to be present in Excel export from the City Clerk's campaign disclosure website(see my comment on yesterday's strong mayor lawsuit that you penned)...and help get them re-established-that would be grand. In this era of transparency and a "City Hall that works for everyone", it was probably a simple oversight associated with last weekend's improvement to that site :) !
KJ lambasted, to put it mildly, Heather Fargo last year for crime, and while she was in office violent crime, per FBI stats, actually dropped during her term. Now, I don't think the mayor's office has much to do with crime rates, apart from the bully pulpit, if that exists here, but for him to claim that he's IN ANY WAY responsible for any drop in crime this year is ABSURD.
And then there are the claims about stimulus bucks.
For KJ to claim any part of responsibility for this cash infusion, after the cataclysm of events that occurred to realize such federal money, including the cavalier setting aside of substantive allegations of monetary malfeasance and child sexual abuse against Johnson himself, to report KJ's claims crediting his presence as beneficial in this regard is RIDICULOUS.
Your piece was empty of any serious challenge to this mayor and his ilk. You basically gave a blank check to das mayor and asked only a meek and friendly supporter of his about KJ's self-congratulatory review of this past DISASTROUS year.
As more incidents and evidence of this mayor's lack of proper stewardship of this city's resources, after revelations on the Natomas, Nestle, and St. Hope debacles, with no doubt more to come, to give this incompetent boob such a softball treatment here, or anywhere, is NOT doing your JOB!
I'm disappointed that people take this kind of pablum seriously... There are some serious issues at hand, worthy of penetrating and skilled journalism -- REAL journalism. This was more like the puff of a local neighborhood flier, a la my own neighborhood's LPCA newsletter, rather than a serious consideration of this profoundly unfit incumbent's first term in office that WE'VE ALL suffered through.
Very disappointing indeed...
1) have shootings which - by the Grace of God- did not resutt in homicide decrease? Has the atmosphere/ climate resulting in violence decrease? How many calls of shots-fired have the SPD received this year? If everyone shot at or actually shot had died would we still have less homicides? Were less weapons apprehended this year than previous? What has been done to stop the flow of guns which continuously find their way into hands of city youth? When guns are taken from youth what is being done to change the behavior? what is being done to stop another gun from replacing the one apprehended by LE? In 2005 their was a shooting every month sometimes more than one a month and a time when their were 3 homicides in one day. In 2006 their were less shootings. So Mayor Fargo could have stated crime decreased in 2006 but she knew full well in 2007 crime would again increase because we were addressing it on the surface (Mayor Johnson's style) so Fargo would not have made the ignorant claim Johnson has made.......Ah heck I have plenty of questions for our crime fighting mayor and too long to list on this post so I'll just write it up in a letter for our mayor.
2) " The city was awarded more than $12 million in federal stimulus funds for police, Johnson noted. “That’s going to allow us to put even more police officers on the street in the next three years
So does Mayor Johnson think he can ARREST away crime? I feel as though I've walked on a treadmill. Law enforcement is a deterrant NOT a solution. Obviously we don't have a problem with arrest. California has more prisons than any other state and sends inmates out of state due to overcrowded conditions....If Mayor Johnson had EVER addressed CRIME prior to taking office and while in office he would also know In 2005 SPD had a 92% arrest rate. So Mayor Johnson taking credit for it now is like Braziel taking credit for the arrest rate which was equivalent to when Najera was police chief. But Braziel isn't as arrogant as Johnson............ Heck I'll have to also add more on this in a letter to the mayor so he can also know how ignorant he sounds and how he is insulting our intelligence and adding insult to injury, pouring salt on our wounds
3) IF Sacramento moved from the 51st most dangerous city to the 57th it's possible that change was the result of OTHER cities which once had fewer crime now have more crime. IT COULD be the result of crime increasing in other cities and NOT THE result of crime decreasing in Sacramento.
I will not walk backwards because we have a backwards mayor who is letting politics as usual get in the way of truth and effective significant efforts in addressing crime. I DID NOT VOTE FOR JOHNSON when I SAW HE USED crime to make himself look good by making Fargo look bad AND HE NEVER ADDRESSED CRIME. Fargo learned we can't arrest away crime and preveniton is more than jails and prisons and now Crime fighting Johnson is clueless. Oh, this makes me angry. I've taken enough time on this...............................