Johnson, Fargo square off in debate

Sacramento got its first – and only – chance Thursday evening to watch Mayor Heather Fargo go toe-to-toe with chief challenger Kevin Johnson in a televised debate that mirrored this contentious and scrappy race.

The hourlong program, hosted by KCRA 3's Edie Lambert and Kevin Riggs, began with the campaign's thorniest issue: allegations of sexual misconduct against Johnson involving teens in Phoenix in 1996 and Sacramento in 2007.

Both cases were investigated by police and no charges were filed, but this week Fargo called for the police chief to reopen the local investigation.

Johnson called Fargo's action ridiculous.

"It was clearly politics," an irate Johnson said. "It was sowing the seeds of discord – and an abuse of power for the mayor."

Fargo defended herself.

"I thought it was necessary for us to understand what happened," she said. "I would have done it if I had known the same allegations against any other school administrator in Sacramento."

Johnson dismissed the misconduct issue as a political tactic that has not resonated with the voters he's talked to as he walks neighborhoods.

"I thought basketball and playing in the paint was a dirty sport," said the former NBA All-Star, "but politics is even dirtier."

The program – the only full-bore debate scheduled between the two front-runners before the June 3 election – provided a wide-ranging and substantive look at their stands on issues.

On crime, Johnson criticized Fargo for what he characterized as a significant increase in violent crime on her watch. But Fargo countered that violent crime has dropped in the most recent reports, an improvement she credited to more police officers and dispatchers.

Johnson promised to play an active role in improving public schools, citing his record of fundraising at the charter schools run by his St. HOPE organization – Sacramento High and PS7, a K-8 school.

"I look at my role as mayor a little different," Johnson said. "If we have a funding challenge, I want to work to bring more resources to Sacramento. I can raise additional dollars. As a mayor, this can be done. Our young people are our most important resource."

But Fargo questioned how realistic such an approach would be in closing the funding gap for public schools.

"I do a fair amount of fund-raising myself," she said. "It's more difficult to fund-raise to actually pay for the operational costs. I don't know if you can expect cities to support a state-funded school system."

Economic development in tight times was a central issue for both candidates, although they differed on the city's pace in developing the downtown railyard.

Johnson charged that City Hall has moved too slowly under Fargo.

"I think we have an unbelievable opportunity with the railyard," he said. "If we don't go out there and we squander the opportunity, we in the community lose. We can't just plan, and due process, and plan … ."

"The city has not been dragging its feet," Fargo said of the railyard's progress. "It's finally out of Union Pacific's hands. They're doing their environmental review and cleaning up the toxic soil. We have purchased the depot building itself, which will be the city's centerpiece. We have a number of federal grants in sight."

It came as no surprise that the two candidates had very different takes on the city's $58 million budget deficit.

"Who do we hold accountable for this deficit?" Johnson asked. "The mayor, the city manager, the City Council? There's no accountability. Under the mayor's watch, we could have done a better job of oversight. When times are good, we have to put money aside. Most importantly, you have to be aggressive with economic development."

"What happened," said Fargo, "is that because of the mortgage crisis and other issues, we've flat-lined in terms of our revenues. We need to get our expenditures down. We saw this coming last fall – we put our hiring controls in place. We're aiming to reduce the number of city employees by 500 – we have about 100 left to go."

After the debate, both candidates said they were satisfied with their performance.

"I think it went well," Johnson told reporters as he headed to the KCRA parking lot. "I was very comfortable. I believe debates are good for the campaign. I think voters saw that the big distinction between us is that she thinks things are OK in Sacramento, and I think we should do better."

Fargo emerged a few minutes later. She emphatically disagreed with Johnson's assessment of the city.

"I think we should be proud of Sacramento," the mayor said. "I think we shouldn't discount the good things we've done here. Yes, we're in a slump – so is the country and the state – but that will pass, and we have to be poised for the future."

The Sacramento mayoral contest is the most dynamic local race on the primary ballot, by far.

It pits two-term incumbent Fargo against Johnson, the wealthy native son of Oak Park, plus a supporting cast of five colorful challengers: bounty hunter Leonard Padilla; midtown activist Shawn Eldredge; folksy insurance man Richard Jones; sustainability engineer Muriel Strand; and Adam Daniel, who dropped out during the last televised debate and swung his support to Fargo.

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