Call it the education of Mr. Johnson.

Kevin Johnson, hoping to oust Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo in the November election, is receiving a series of briefings from high-level city officials on the inner workings of their bureaucracy.

City Manager Ray Kerridge arranged the meetings at Johnson's request.

Johnson, a former NBA star and political newcomer, received 46.1 percent of the vote in the June primary to Fargo's 39.4 percent, but fell short of the more than 50 percent he needed to avoid a fall runoff.

Whoever is elected will be sworn in Nov. 25.

"One of these guys is going to win this race, so it's the right thing to do," Kerridge said of the briefings. "I think it's good that he can start to establish some kind of relationship with the department heads and the assistant city managers."

Such briefings for mayoral candidates are unusual. Previously, all of Sacramento's elected mayors had first served on the City Council, the city clerk's office said.

Fargo campaign manager Dale Howard said he'd never heard of anyone running for local office who received such briefings before winning. "Beneath the presidential level, I don't think there's any precedent for that," he said.

The meetings, which began last week, are being held away from City Hall at the Sacramento Convention Center.

First, Johnson met with Kerridge and his four assistant city managers. Now he's meeting with each of the assistant city managers and the department heads they supervise. Kerridge sits in on each meeting.

"Everyone is kind of enjoying it," Kerridge said. "People like to talk about their departments – what's going well and how they feel about their jobs."

Kerridge said he offered Fargo the same opportunity, but she passed, saying, 'I think I know you pretty well.' "

On Wednesday, however, Fargo said she plans to ask for similar briefings to make sure she has all the same information Johnson does. She noted that she meets with Kerridge and his department heads regularly, and just had lunch with the city manager Tuesday.

"I would assume he's doing it to give the impression he'll be ready to take over, and because he really does need the information," Fargo said."It's a smart thing to do on his part."

Johnson said he asked for the briefings so he "won't start behind."

"I owe it to the city to do as much leg work as I can, so if on Nov. 4 I have more votes than Heather Fargo, I'm ready to govern on Day One."

He said he has been "very impressed" by Kerridge's stable of assistant city managers. "They care and are committed to Sacramento," he said.

Kerridge, in turn, said Johnson has made a good impression in the meetings, in which officials detailed their duties, goals and challenges on topics ranging from Old Sacramento to the potential need for a larger zoo site.

"He comes in on his own. He doesn't bring anybody with him. He takes a lot of notes," Kerridge said.

Johnson hasn't attended a City Council meeting since announcing his candidacy in March. He said he attended at least one council meeting some years ago in connection with his St. HOPE organization.

Johnson said he stayed away from Tuesday's meeting on the controversial gang tax proposed for the November ballot – he led opposition to it, and Fargo supported it – because he didn't want to be a distraction. In the end, the measure fell one council vote short of making it to the ballot.

Fargo said she thinks Johnson should have come to the meeting in person. She said the people in attendance overwhelmingly supported raising the sales tax to combat youth violence, and he should have faced them.

Besides meeting with city officials, Johnson said he is traveling around the country to visit with the mayors of other cities, most recently Gavin Newsom in San Francisco and Michael Bloomberg in New York City. He has posted blog entries about his travels on his campaign Web site.

Johnson said his status as a former NBA star means many high-level politicians will open their doors to him. His St. HOPE organization is working on opening a school in Harlem, which gave him an entree to Bloomberg.

Johnson said he is looking for ideas and seeking to put the city on the national radar.

"I want people to know what Sacramento is doing," he said. "If you're on people's minds, you never know what's going to come of it."

Fargo said she has frequent contact with other mayors. She is the incoming president of the League of California Cities and serves on the advisory board of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. "I think it's important to exchange information," she said.

Given Fargo's many years of political experience, Johnson's meetings with other mayors and city officials put him on "a more equal footing," said California State University, Sacramento, communications professor Barbara O'Connor.

O'Connor said Johnson may prove more open to new ideas than his opponent, because he isn't invested in the current city policies or culture. "He's not having to defend what's here," she said.

But Doug Elmets, a local public relations consultant who works on campaigns, said Johnson risks looking arrogant, like he assumes he's "got this all wrapped up."

"Did he get the curtains measured in the mayor's suite as well?" Elmets asked.

Call The Bee's Mary Lynne Vellinga, (916) 321-1094.