Seven candidates meet in freewheeling debate

Raw audio from the debate: (01.32:44)

Sacramento's televised mayoral debate Wednesday had it all: recriminations, civic discourse, moments of hilarity and a candidate's sudden withdrawal from the race during his closing statement.

The seven candidates for mayor of Sacramento took the stage from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the California Museum, in a forum sponsored by the museum, The Bee and News10.

The debate turned tense at times, particularly when former NBA star turned mayoral candidate Kevin Johnson was asked about a federal investigation into the Hood Corps, an urban service group run by Johnson's St. HOPE organization, and allegations that he had inappropriately touched teenage girls in Phoenix and Sacramento. No charges were ever filed in the Phoenix case, and Sacramento police said they found no merit to the local allegation.

Johnson cited the stories circulating about his character and management of St. HOPE as a reason "why politics is so difficult for people to get involved with."

"I would stand my character up against anybody. It's unfortunate that when you decide to run for public office there are going to be a lot of allegations and mudslinging and things that aren't true," he said.

Johnson's campaign has accused Mayor Heather Fargo of being behind negative stories about him, although he has offered no proof. At Wednesday's debate, Fargo said she has taken the high road.

"I've tried to run a very positive campaign," she said. "All my campaign staff and consultants have been told I don't want to engage in that. I want to be re-elected on the basis of what I've done, not what someone else has done."

After the debate, Johnson told reporters that as someone who "grew up on the streets of Oak Park," he was used to "some tough situations."

"At the end of the day I will withstand this and be able to represent Sacramento in a way we'll all be extremely proud of."

A "lightning round" of speedy questions and answers produced some interesting tidbits: Johnson is the only one of the seven candidates who doesn't support gay marriage. He said he believes marriage is "between a man and a woman."

Fargo would like Sacramento to be more like Portland, Ore. Johnson would like it to resemble Phoenix, where he played basketball for the Suns.

The politician Fargo admires most is former Sacramento Mayor Anne Rudin, while Johnson chose President Kennedy.

And the politician whom candidate Muriel Strand admires most? Fargo.

Nearly all the candidates in the June 3 election cited public safety as their top priority. But candidate Shawn Eldredge, who wore a Led Zeppelin T-shirt under his sport jacket, said his rivals needed to be more specific about how they would pay for increased police protection, especially given the city's gaping budget deficit. Eldredge has said he would support a half-cent sales tax increase countywide for public safety and transit.

"All these things cost money," he said. "Let's have that conversation right now. Do you want to increase tax dollars to spend on public safety?"

Of the candidates, only Fargo, the current, two-term mayor, and Johnson are raising substantial amounts of money and mounting aggressive campaigns.

The five remaining candidates made for interesting debate and several light moments during the 90 minutes on stage. The first hour was televised live; the remaining 30 minutes was live online.

Questions came from The Bee's Terri Hardy, News10's Sharon Ito and Claudia French of the California Museum, who presented questions from voters.

When asked her priorities, Strand cited climate change and suggested people be allowed to keep chickens in their yards so they would have eggs to eat.

Candidate Richard Jones didn't mince words. Asked about an earlier assertion that he was just as qualified to hold the mayor's office as was Johnson, the semiretired insurance broker replied: "He hasn't held any office I know of. I haven't either. So we're both not very qualified."

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