Steve Cohn will finally get his chance to run the city of Sacramento today.
For four hours.
The longtime city councilman, former mayoral candidate and current vice mayor will preside over the City Council's afternoon agenda before passing the ball to Mayor-elect Kevin Johnson.
The reason: Johnson won't be sworn in until the 6 p.m. meeting because of an item on the afternoon agenda that presents the mayor-elect with a potential conflict of interest, city officials said.
The swearing-in was moved to the evening calendar after City Attorney Eileen Teichert notified the city clerk's office of an agenda item recommending that the city's redevelopment agency allocate $2.2 million to a Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market project in North Sacramento. Fresh & Easy recently purchased a 1.6-acre plot in Oak Park from Johnson's Kynship Development company for a separate project.
When the afternoon calendar is complete, Johnson will sign the oath of office and then preside over the evening agenda, according to City Clerk Shirley Concolino.
Cohn, who has presided on other occasions, said he doesn't "intend to do anything too radical" with his time at the head of the dais.
"There's not too much damage I think I can do over four hours, given I've been on the council for 14 years," he said.
Among Johnson's first items as a member of the council is a public hearing on the city's 2030 General Plan, which will guide growth in the city for the next 22 years.
Meanwhile, Teichert said that Johnson will not be precluded from voting on issues regarding the city's acceptance of federal funding.
Following a federal probe earlier this year into how Johnson's St. HOPE Academy used federal funding, the mayor-elect and St. HOPE were placed on a list of entities that can't do business with the federal government.
Teichert said Monday that she did not know how Johnson's presence on the list would affect the city, but that she was confident that it "won't affect the city's ability to accept funding." She said the only other issue is "how much disclosure we have to do to whatever federal agency we're applying for funds."
Johnson previously said it was "absurd" to think his inclusion on the federal list would hinder the city's ability to land pivotal federal funds.
The mayor-elect could name members of his staff as early as today.
It is unclear what role, if any, members of Johnson's large transition team will play in the new administration. The mayor is budgeted for four support positions and Steve Maviglio, Johnson's campaign manager, said Johnson will likely "not have anything beyond what he's allotted."
Johnson has scheduled an 11 a.m. news conference today, and his campaign said he will conduct the press events every Tuesday there is a City Council meeting.
"From day one, Kevin is going to start talking about accessibility and accountability," said Adam Mendelsohn, a Johnson adviser and member of the mayor-elect's transition team. "Right away, he wants to start taking steps to make sure the people of Sacramento have access to him."
Though Johnson was ceremonially sworn in last week, the election results had not been certified and the legal oath of office had to wait until today.
Call The Bee's Ryan Lillis, (916) 321-1085.
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