The candidates from all of the City Council district races, the mayoral race and two Board of Supervisors races will face off Saturday at a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters. One notable exception: Mayor Kevin Johnson is not scheduled to appear. According to Johnson’s campaign manager, Steve Maviglio, Johnson has “no need” to attend. “Given the large number of events the mayor has attended over the past year, and since none of his opponents are waging a real campaign against him, he chose not to participate in this event,” Maviglio said Friday. The news of Johnson’s planned absence came as no surprise to mayoral candidate Jonathan Rewers. “He’s not even campaigning,” Rewers s

The District 2 City Council candidates gathered at the Sacramento Urban League over the weekend where they faced a new topic of discussion. And it wasn’t the death of the arena deal. Last Thursday, the City released its proposed 2012-2013 budget. The proposed budget eliminates 286 jobs, many of which are public safety positions. That didn’t sit well with the candidates. “No I don’t support those (cuts)” said candidate and former city councilmember Rob Kerth when asked about the cuts to public safety. “Those are fundamental city services.” “No, I do not support the budget cuts to cut police and fire services,” said Kim Mack. “One life is lost, one home is lost; they (the cuts) are not

When residents in District 2 met with City Council candidates Wednesday night, they had more on their minds than an arena – they wanted to know which of the candidates could “walk the walk” for clean streets, healthy kids and safe neighborhoods. “We need a City Council person who is going to stand up and fight for (District) 2,” said Robla School District School Board Member Velma Strong. “We need new development. We need grocery stores. We need restaurants. When we build something in our area, it should put our people to work. What are you going to do?” Strong asked the candidates. Strong was one of nearly 50 people who attended the forum hosted by the Robla Community Association – one

Misty Yaj said she is tired of District 2 being ignored by City Hall, so she joined the race to fill the City Council seat that incumbent Sandy Sheedy will be vacating after 12 years in office. “There are a lot of vandalized homes and vacant properties (in the district), and businesses here are few,” Yaj said. “I want to change that.” Yaj said the city has spent too much time on the proposed entertainment and sports complex project and not enough time finding ways to invest in the areas outside the downtown core. “When I talk to people (in the district), no one asks me about the arena. Not here – that’s for the downtown, not for (DIstrict 2),” Yaj said. Yaj, 42, owns a small business i

The Sacramento City Clerk’s Office released the final ballot list of candidates for the June City Council elections Thursday, showing crowded fields for the District 2 and 4 races – and some expected candidates not appearing on the final ballot. Mayor Kevin Johnson will face three contenders in the race for his seat: bounty hunter Leonard Padilla, insurance broker Richard Jones, and Parks and Recreation Commission member Jonathan Rewers. Padilla has run for mayor four times before, most recently in the 2008 race against then-Mayor Heather Fargo and Johnson. Two candidates who filed for candidacy in the mayoral race – Edgar Hilbert-Garcia and Andrew Lewis – did not qualify for the ballot

Community activist and local pastor Jason Sample announced his candidacy Feb. 24 for the City Council District 2 seat, and he received the endorsement of incumbent Sandy Sheedy at his announcement event. "I take my endorsement very seriously, and what better person to give it to than Jason Sample who cares and has done so much for our community?” Sheedy said in a press release. Sheedy announced in January that she will not seek re-election to the council seat she has held for 12 years Sample, 35, is a senior pastor of True Life Ministries Worship Center in Del Paso Heights, and his wife, Yanette, is a social worker. “We have a lot of interesting conversations at home about the conditio

Former Midtown Business Association Executive Director Rob Kerth is running for City Council District 2 – a position he held from 1992-2000 – and, for him, enthusiasm is the key to getting things done. Kerth, 53, is a third-generation Sacramentan – his family has lived in Sacramento for more than 90 years – and his record of community involvement includes eight years as a representative on the Sacramento Area Council of Governments and being the current president of the North Sacramento Chamber of Commerce. Kerth and his family have owned Iceland, an ice skating rink in North Sacramento, for more than 50 years. When arsonists destroyed the rink in 2010, more than 700 volunteers came toge

The June election is more than three months away, but one City Council candidate is already being accused of breaking election rules. According to the city elections code, campaign signs cannot be put up until 90 days before the election – which for the upcoming June election would be March 9. City Council District 2 candidate Allen Wayne Warren’s signs were on display in the windows of a building on the 2300 block of Del Paso Boulevard Friday afternoon. Sources say the campaign signs have been in the windows of the building since at least Jan. 20 – shortly after he officially announced his candidacy. The building is home to his campaign headquarters office. According to city spokesma

On the eve of discussion about her goal of putting arena financing to a public vote, City Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy announced that she will not be running for re-election to her District 2 council seat in June. “After careful consideration, I have decided not to seek another term on the Sacramento City Council,” Sheedy said in a prepared statement Monday. Sheedy cited 28 years of public service between herself and her husband, Ted, a former county supervisor, adding, “We feel it’s time to call it a day so we can spend more time with our family.” Sheedy would have faced at least four other candidates for her council seat in the upcoming election, including former Obama campaign organizer

Community leader and former human resources manager Sondra Betancourt joined the race for City Council District 2 this week, ready to face a growing field of competitors including business leader and former City Councilman Rob Kerth and incumbent Sandy Sheedy. Betancourt, a second-generation Sacramentan, said she remembers when the north area of the city was vibrant with many active businesses, churches, schools and neighborhood associations. It is something Betancourt said she would like to see revived not just in her district but throughout the city. “I see the big picture for the city,” Betancourt, 59, said Monday. “We need to grow and be inviting to businesses, but it has to be smart

Kim Mack said she decided to run for City Council District 2 because she saw a need that hasn’t been filled in her North Sacramento community: responsive leadership. That isn’t necessarily a dig at the current council member for the district, Mack said Tuesday – it’s a statement of purpose. Mack, 49, has a long career in government service under her belt, including campaign experience as a field organizer for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign where she was responsible for campaign activities from Bakersfield to the Oregon border. Mack also worked on local campaigns including Ami Bera's recent run for the 3rd Congressional District and Richard Pan’s successful run for Assembly.

Rob Kerth is stepping down from his position as the Midtown Business Association’s executive director to focus his attention on a run for a City Council seat in 2012. “It’s like climbing a mountain,” Kerth said Monday of his departure from the MBA. “Once I’ve done what I needed to do, then I need to go find a new mountain.” The Midtown Business Association is a nonprofit organization that started in 1983. According to the MBA website, the goal of the organization is to “improve Midtown Sacramento through public maintenance, marketing, business advocacy and economic development.” Kerth was hired as Executive Director in July 2008. He said in an email that his official last day as execut

Sacramento’s Ride Your Own Way bike share program suffered a setback when three bicycles were stolen earlier this month, but organizers said they are going forward with an updated system, and new bicycles will soon be ordered. “Someone stole a credit card and used that to check out the bikes,” said Midtown Business Association Executive Director Rob Kerth. “We’ve made some changes to how people have to validate the credit card, so we’ll be able to tell if it’s the right person.” The program, which launched June 11, allows bicycles to be rented from one of two kiosks in Midtown – one at the Priority Parking lot at 16th and I streets and one at the Priority Parking lot at 27th and J street

The Sacramento City Council approved changes to a variety of fees for city services and permits for the upcoming fiscal year Tuesday night, including an increase in the cost of entertainment permits for businesses that provide music and dancing. All totaled, the council approved 18 different fees, including increases to 12 existing fees and the addition of six new ones. City Finance Director Leyne Milstein outlined the proposal in a public hearing presentation to a full council and about 50 people in the chamber audience before the council unanimously voted to approve it. Citing cost recovery as the basis for the adjustments, Milstein noted that 18 fee changes is a relatively small numb

Sacramentans will soon be able to borrow bicycles in Midtown for free – if they’re fast – or for a nominal fee as a group moves forward with a pilot bicycle-sharing program that will launch by June 11. Starting small with just 12 bicycles for a six-month trial, Ride Your Own Way allows anyone with a credit card to rent a bicycle from an automated station, which organizers say is perfect for the Midtown and downtown lifestyle. Renting a bicycle is free for the first 30 minutes, and a $2 per half hour charge is applied after that. “I see this having many uses,” said Rob Kerth, Executive Director of the Midtown Business Association, which is a partner in the endeavor. “Folks who don’t have

A few more changes are in the works for the Second Saturday Art Walk in an effort to reduce problems and increase the focus on art, city and business leaders said Wednesday. The changes will take effect in April, when the event's crowds are expected to grow as warm weather returns to Sacramento. The city's Second Saturday safety team has come up with some modifications in the wake of a fatal shooting in September 2010. The biggest change is a requirement that vendors, musicians with amplified sound and other street performers who are set up on public property – primarily sidewalks or closed streets – operate from 4 - 8 p.m. Live music is part of a growing music scene that has emerged on

Wendy (Kerth) Nugent embraces her brother Rob before Iceland Ice Arena reopened this morning on Del Paso Blvd. It was a happy day for the Kerth family. An arson fire destroyed the historic business ten months ago. The occupancy permit was granted yesterday. Skaters tied on their skates for the first time in ten months in anticipation of hitting the ice once again. Paul Schachder is one of the many volunteers that helped restore Iceland. He says he didn't find out about it until a couple of weeks after the fire. After hearing about the arson blaze in the news, he says he drove by and saw all the people inside with the wheelbarrows cleaning up. "The cleanup was the hard part," he said. "T

Iceland's outdoor skating rink is expected to open Saturday after more than two months of delays. The landmark North Sacramento ice rink was all but destroyed by an arsonist last spring. The Kerth family, now operating Iceland as a nonprofit, and volunteers worked to reopen the rink – without a roof and many other amenities – by the facility's 70th anniversary on Nov. 4. The opening was delayed after family members learned they needed a special permit from the city Planning Commission. The Kerths will open a temporary rink at 1430 Del Paso Blvd. this weekend if city building inspectors approve handicapped-accessible ramps Thursday, said Midtown Business Association Executive Director Rob

The opening of the remodeled Iceland skating rink in North Sacramento was approved unanimously by the City Council on Tuesday. The ice skating rink, which an arsonist burned down last spring, could reopen as early as Saturday, or on Christmas at the latest, according to Rob Kerth, the grandson of the couple who founded the rink. He commented on the city permit the City Council approved Tuesday night. “Iceland has the right to operate as an indoor facility at that location,” Kerth said after the council’s vote. “It doesn’t have the right to operate as an outdoor facility. What (the City Council) gave us was a three-year permit to operate as an outdoor facility. Within three years, we eit

Volunteers and ice-making equipment were hard at work Monday turning ashes into an ice rink. Debris from last spring's arson fire has long since been cleaned up. But efforts to lay down ice for the first time since Iceland burned just began Sunday night inside the thick concrete and rebar exterior walls that survived the flames. The Kerth family, now operating Iceland as a nonprofit, hopes to be able to open a 13,500-square-foot temporary outdoor rink as soon as Thursday afternoon. Earlier this month, the city Planning Commission awarded a special use permit needed because of the potential noise now that the rink at 1430 Del Paso Blvd. will be outside. A problem with the plan cropped up