Sacramentans voted for change, and here it comes.

Incoming Mayor Kevin Johnson won't take office until Nov. 25, but it's already clear he will be a very different sort of chief executive than Sacramento is used to.

Armed with thick briefing binders, a transition team numbering more than 50 people is helping prepare Johnson for the move.

The group could grow to 100 before Johnson is sworn in, said transition team spokesman Adam Mendelsohn, former deputy chief of staff to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Mayor Heather Fargo, said she "didn't really have a transition team" when she went from being a city councilwoman to mayor.

"It was really more a process of moving my office from one part of City Hall to another," she said.

Then, there's Johnson's national TV presence, not traditionally a pressing issue for Sacramento mayors. He is scheduled to be in New York tonight for an appearance on the satiric news commentary show, "The Colbert Report," which airs at 11:30 p.m. on Comedy Central.

There's also the matter of Johnson's swearing in. His supporters are scouting a location for an inauguration that could accommodate 2,000 to 3,000 guests, rather than the 40 seats in the City Council chambers he'd get if he followed past procedure. Local developer Mark Friedman, who is spearheading the inauguration plans, said a committee would raise money privately to pay for the event.

"He definitely thinks differently," said City Clerk Shirley Concolino, who met with Johnson last week. "You just have to get your head around that because it's not what we're used to."

Fargo said the whole concept of an inauguration is new for the city, which didn't even have a full-time mayor until 2002.

"It's called a swearing in," she said. "We don't use the term inauguration at City Hall, at least we haven't before. That's usually reserved for the president and the governor."

Johnson said the hoopla is all part of making Sacramento more visible on the national stage. Input from the transition team, he said, will elevate the level of public policy debate on topics such as transportation, education, crime and homelessness.

"Everything we've done so far is grander, and I think that's good for Sacramento," Johnson said Monday.

He said he'd also bring a greater sense of urgency and energy to the job, working weekends to get things done and inviting city staff to do the same.

Among people who have worked with him, Johnson's pace and the demands he places on others are legendary. A recent example: About 40 members of the transition team were summoned to a 7:30 a.m. meeting the morning after the election – after they'd stayed out late celebrating. The bleary-eyed group received thick binders full of policy objectives.

"All of us were exhausted, and he had been on three morning radio shows," said Friedman. "The level of energy is astounding."

At a press conference Monday announcing his transition plans, Johnson said that he doesn't want to be mediocre.

"I don't want to live in a mediocre city," said the former NBA All-Star. "I don't want anything we do to be mediocre."

His transition team includes Spanish-language media mogul Amador Bustos, charged with reaching out to the Latino community. Another member is Washington, D.C., Chancellor of Education Michelle Rhee, a longtime friend who formerly served on the board of Johnson's St. HOPE organization.

Rhee has taken time off from her job and is helping interview candidates to be Johnson's chief of staff, said campaign spokesman Steve Maviglio.

On Monday, Johnson held his press conference on the 25th floor of Sacramento's newest high-rise, 621 Capitol Mall. He said he chose the locale to highlight the possibilities for Sacramento. The view from the 25th floor included downtown, the Tower Bridge, and in the distance the coastal range.

He said 90 percent of the transition team members are volunteering their time, with just one or two staff members paid by his campaign.

Johnson said other members of his team are trying to figure out how to provide additional staff once he takes office. The mayor is allotted only four staff positions. Johnson suggested he could use additional volunteer help or someone whose time is donated by a company.

"We've been told the most you can have is five people," Johnson said. "When you think about what mayors do around the country, that's nothing. There's very little you can do with five people."

Fargo, said she, too, could have used additional staff. But the City Council took away one of her positions because of the city's stark budget situation.

"I'm not sure there's five votes to give it back to him," she said.

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