Do we call them Rhee-J?

The bicoastal power couple of Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and Washington, D.C., schools chief Michelle Rhee made it official Friday: Not only are they an item, they're engaged.

It's a union that has been rumored to exist for months.

In the past year, they've been seen dining together in Sacramento restaurants, holding hands at a Wyclef Jean concert in midtown and together at the Cal-USC football game last month in Berkeley.

The couple also have been spotted around town in Washington, always arousing the attention of local gossip columnists.

In January, Washington City Paper reported that Rhee and Johnson were seen walking hand in hand into the 9:30 Club, a popular D.C. music club. They also attended President Barack Obama's inauguration together.

Outside of social circles, their relationship also has been a close one. Rhee was at the mayor's side on election night last November, monitoring results from Johnson's midtown loft and attending his victory party at Zocalo. She also handpicked the mayor's chief of staff, Kunal Merchant, who once worked at the Teaching Fellows program in New York, an offshoot of the New Teacher Project that Rhee founded.

Yet despite those connections, Rhee and Johnson refused to discuss their personal relationship. Until Friday.

"This is an exciting time in our lives and I feel truly blessed," the mayor said in a statement e-mailed to reporters. "Michelle is an amazing person, and I could not be happier."

Johnson's staff said the mayor was unavailable to talk at greater length about his engagement Friday, leaving some key questions unanswered. Where will the wedding be held? Are the couple going to maintain a long-distance relationship?

Mayoral spokesman Joaquin McPeek would not say when or where the engagement took place. He said no wedding date has been set, and the couple are planning a long engagement.

Rhee could not be reached for comment Friday, but she doesn't like discussing personal matters very much anyway. She told the Washington Post last December, "My stance has been that I don't comment on my personal life."

It wasn't until Rhee, a divorced mother of two daughters, was seen at a Democrats for Education Reform/DC School Reform Now event on Wednesday with a ring on her finger that the story broke.

The Washington Post's Reliable Source blog – which has posted several items about Rhee, 39, and Johnson, 43 – reported Rhee had a "pretty sparkly thing on her left hand" at the event.

The couple have a lot in common. Rhee, an Ohio native, served on the board of Johnson's St. HOPE Public Schools in 2006 and 2007. In March, the mayor invited several public figures to Sacramento for a summit on local public education, including Rhee.

They've also both battled with their city councils – Johnson over his strong-mayor proposal, and Rhee over the operation of her school district.

Rhee enjoyed a long honeymoon after becoming chancellor of the D.C. schools two years ago, but she's in the middle of a particularly rough patch now. Last month, she tussled with members of the D.C. council, who accused her of violating the law by deciding on her own to lay off teachers and staff to save $9 million in the schools' budget.

Council members said she was obligated to discuss the matter with them in advance. The council chairman told Rhee that her decision was "incredibly cavalier."

The dispute has prompted street protests and a lawsuit by the teachers union. Council members are continuing to investigate the issue.

Call The Bee's Ryan Lillis, (916) 321-1085.