When a federal investigation of Mayor Kevin Johnson and his nonprofit St. HOPE was concluded in April, I wrote the words: "It's over."
Shame on me. It's never over with this guy.
There is seemingly always a skeleton poised to fly out of Johnson's closet. Johnson – or his posse – have been accused of a range of misdeeds, from inappropriate behavior with girls to misuse of hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal grants.
Now the FBI is looking into obstruction of justice allegations stemming from the earlier investigation into misuse of grant money by St. HOPE Academy. Former bank executive Rick Maya, who replaced Johnson as executive director of St. HOPE Public Schools, made the allegations that triggered the FBI probe.
In a damning eight-page letter he submitted when resigning from the St. HOPE board of directors, Maya alleged that while the organization was under federal subpoena in that earlier investigation, a St. HOPE board member deleted some of Johnson's e-mails.
Maya claimed in the letter that he alerted the St. HOPE board, and that members did nothing except notify St. HOPE legal counsel Kevin Hiestand. Hiestand is also Johnson's longtime friend, business partner and personal attorney. And he was the lawyer embroiled in a scalding controversy from last year's mud-splattered mayoral election:
When Johnson was accused of inappropriately touching a student at Sacramento High, Hiestand questioned the girl before anyone at the school contacted police. The girl recanted, and police – contacted a week later – found no merit to the allegation. But Hiestand's behavior was disturbing.
That's the story of St. HOPE: great intentions, some progress, inner turmoil.
The two public schools run by St. HOPE show strong performance when compared with similar schools. Financial problems surfaced, but Maya was touted as a capable leader who could get them on track. Board members such as Bernard Bowler, a former IBM executive, and acclaimed educator Robert Trigg were bullish on Johnson's dream program.
Then came Maya's letter. A board majority forced him out on leave. Bowler and Trigg resigned. Ultimately, Maya was given a severance package worth nearly $100,000 to walk away.
And now? Maya won't talk. Bowler won't talk.
And Johnson won't talk. When I asked the mayor if he played any role in Maya's departure, he answered that he had stepped away from St. HOPE.
OK, but the question was: Did he play a role in Maya's departure?
He wouldn't answer.
People want to feel good about Johnson and he remains popular. But it's never that easy with KJ. He makes it hard on himself. At St. HOPE, people love him one day – then they leave amid acrimony – and won't talk.
I was thinking about this as I watched a guy collecting signatures to strengthen Johnson's powers as mayor.
Yikes.
Call The Bee's Marcos Breton, (916) 321-1096.
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