The accusations are flying at City Hall.

Councilman Ray Tretheway is accusing Mayor Kevin Johnson of quid pro quo in his endorsement process, while Johnson’s Special Assistant R.E. Graswich said that Tretheway’s allegations are lies.

Tretheway held a press conference Wednesday to announce that some of Johnson’s most influential supporters told him that if he voted to place a strong mayor proposal on the November ballot, then Johnson would endorse him.

Johnson has endorsed Tretheway’s opponent Angelique Ashby.

“Threats and quid pro quo offers may be commonplace these days,” Tretheway said, “but I want no part of it.”

Tretheway named names at the press conference. He said the following people representing Johnson pressured him to vote for a strong mayor proposal: developer Mark Friedman, developer Mike Heller, steel businessman Steve Ayers, developer Steve Goodwin, developer Jon Bagatelos and attorney Jeffrey Dorso.

Tretheway said that he was pressured when he recently met with some of the city’s key business leaders. “I was specifically told that if I put the strong mayor initiative on the ballot in November, the mayor would be ready to give me his endorsement and make certain I am reelected,” Tretheway said. “I don’t trade votes regardless of political consequences,” he said.

Asked by a reporter if the business leaders said they were acting on behalf of the mayor, Tretheway responded: “Yes, sir.”

Tretheway said he was not planning on making complaints about the matter, noting that Johnson was not directly involved. "I don't think there's anything illegal for somebody to speak on (Johnson's) behalf," Tretheway said.

After the press conference, Graswich said that Tretheway was lying. Graswich referred to a group of key Sacramento business leaders as “the group of 60.”

“He’s lying if he thinks the Sacramento 60 are somehow being directed by the mayor,” Graswich said. “It’s absolutely not true.”

Graswich said that Tretheway has lost the endorsement of the city’s public safety unions and the business community. Faced with the possibility of “losing his political career,” Tretheway is making up a story.

Graswich also pointed out that if Ashby wins office, she won’t begin until November. That would mean that she couldn’t vote to put a strong mayor decision on the ballot.

“If you think about it, why in the world would the mayor endorse Angelique, who, when, if ... she wins, won’t be taking office until the end of November?" Graswich said. "Why would he do that, unless his motives were to simply move the city forward?”

The fight isn’t limited to Tretheway and the mayor’s office: local politicians and powerful groups are taking sides. Council members Sandy Sheedy and Kevin McCarty, the Sacramento County Democratic Party and Bill Camp, the executive secretary of the Sacramento Central Labor Council, are supporting Tretheway’s claims and stood behind him at the press conference.

Sheedy said before the press conference that she believed Tretheway’s claims.

“Ray Tretheway is one of the most honorable men I know,” Sheedy said. “If he says it happened, it happened.”

Representatives from the Sacramento Police Officers Association and the Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522 — two public safety unions that support Ashby — turned out for the press conference. SPOA Vice President Mark Tyndale rebutted Tretheway’s claims in comments to reporters.

In a phone interview Wednesday, developer Mark Friedman said Tretheway’s claims were false.

Friedman said he met with Tretheway and four others Tuesday morning. At the meeting, Friedman said he and the others discussed the strong mayor proposal and its merits, and talked about why they thought it should be placed on the ballot in November.

“We didn’t offer any promises and we didn’t make any threats,” Friedman said.

Friedman said the discussion did not include any mention of Tretheway’s City Council race or an endorsement by the mayor.

“It smells to me like some last-ditch act of political desperation,” Friedman said.

Jon Bagatelos also said Tretheway’s comments were lies. If Tretheway claims there was quid pro quo or that the group of business leaders said they would give him the mayor's endorsement that's a "total unequivocal lie,” Bagatelos said.

Bagatelos said that if Tretheway is referring to the meeting at which Bagatelos attended yesterday, then Tretheway is making defamatory comments.

Steve Ayers and Steve Goodwin also said they did not tell Tretheway that backing the strong mayor proposal could lead to an endorsement from Johnson.

Both Ayers and Goodwin described themselves as supporters of Tretheway. "I'm amazed and shocked," Ayers said.

Goodwin spoke positively about Tretheway, saying he was the best candidate for the District 1 City Council seat. "I have not heard what Ray said," Goodwin said. "But as far as any tit-for-tat — I wouldn't do that to Ray. I would hope he would know that."

Attempts made to contact Mike Heller and Jeffrey Dorso were unsuccessful.

Managing Editor Colleen Belcher contributed to this report.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.