Forget scandal, let's get back to Sacramento issues, Johnson urges

Flanked by about 30 supporters in Oak Park, mayoral candidate Kevin Johnson said Tuesday he wanted to move beyond questions about his personal behavior and talk about "the issues that matter in this city."

Johnson's mother, Georgia West, fired up the crowd before the press conference, and Sacramento City Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy once again took aim at The Bee for publishing articles about allegations that the former NBA star inappropriately touched teenage girls in Phoenix and Sacramento.

"Are you as tired as I am of all the mudslinging and scandal mongering?" Sheedy declared. "Are you tired of The Bee acting more like the National Enquirer than a responsible newspaper?"

Lisa Serna-Mayorga, daughter of the late Sacramento Mayor Joe Serna Jr., said she has known Johnson for many years and believes "he is a man of integrity."

Her two sons attend the PS7 charter school run by St. HOPE, a nonprofit founded by Johnson, and Serna-Mayorga has worked as a spokeswoman for St. HOPE.

Johnson and his supporters reiterated the central theme of his candidacy: that Mayor Heather Fargo has failed to address Sacramento's significant problems, including violent crime, a desolate K Street Mall, a $58 million city budget deficit and rampant home foreclosures.

"Sacramento needs to have a healthy discussion about the issues, about ideas and about the vision of this city," Johnson said.

His press conference followed a morning event by a group of prominent Sacramento women, including former Mayor Anne Rudin and former state Sen. Deborah Ortiz, who called on the Sacramento Police Department to release the report on its investigation into a teacher's complaint that Johnson inappropriately touched a 17-year-old student at St. HOPE's Sacramento High School last year.

The women also called on the Police Department to reopen its probe to assess Sacramento High's handling of the situation.

Johnson said Tuesday that their public demand for further scrutiny "is all part of the ugly and dirty politics of Sacramento."

His campaign noted that the group of women includes Fargo supporters and clients of her political consultant, Richie Ross.

Johnson went a step further Tuesday, saying Fargo should publicly put the matter to rest. "If I was mayor of the city and the roles were reversed, I would say, 'If my Police Department did a thorough investigation, that should be it,' " Johnson said.

Fargo said Monday she had not been in contact with the women, but that she considered their request to be a reasonable one.

Councilman Rob Fong said at Tuesday's council meeting he has concerns about the investigation and would want an explanation if the city manager and attorney feel it cannot be released.

The women denied any political motive.

Ortiz said it did not appear Sacramento High School complied with the law requiring it to report a suspected case of child abuse immediately. She pointed to potential conflict of interest on the part of an attorney who helped handle the school's internal investigation and was Johnson's personal attorney.

About the writer:

• Call The Bee's Mary Lynne Vellinga, (916) 321-1094. The Bee's Terri Hardy contributed to this report.