How Mayor Kevin Johnson continues using public resources for his private gain
by Cosmo Garvin
Bites has been banging pots and pans for a while now about Mayor Kevin Johnson’s use of public resources to advance his many personal and political interests.
K.J.’s network of nonprofits slurp up millions from business interests. These “charitable behests” don’t go to charity; they go to promote Johnson’s political brand, they go to consultants and cronies. Johnson then promotes the policy interests of those big donors. And there’s practically no line dividing the mayor’s office and the private organizations.
The Sacramento media is pretty blasé about K.J. Inc. But not D.C.-based reporter Dave McKenna, who writes for the Gawker site Deadpsin. Read his recent stories, “How Kevin Johnson used public money to his own personal ends,” and “How Kevin Johnson Destroyed Black Mayors Group to Promote His Brand.”
The themes are pretty familiar, but McKenna fills in some important blanks about what our wandering mayor is up to when he’s out there “raising Sacramento’s profile.”
Like using city staff to screw around in the internal politics of the National Basketball Players Association. And having public employees help wage his power struggle for control of the National Conference of Black Mayors.
In 2014, Johnson wanted to be a player in picking a new head for the National Basketball Players Association. He was ultimately rebuffed, but McKenna writes, “The labor for this project came right off the Sacramento municipal payroll,” and included chief of staff Daniel Conway and spokesperson Ben Sosenko.
Bites contacted the mayor’s office for a response; none came. But, as McKenna notes, it’s not like the mayor’s staff hides their involvement in Johnson’s outside projects. Mayoral aide Andre Breaux says on his LinkedIn profile that he “managed project tasks for the Mayor’s role as Chairman of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) Executive Director Search Committee.”
The story of Johnson and the Conference of Black Mayors is longer and way more bizarre. K.J. is being sued by former NCBM executive director Vanessa Williams for defamation.
By all accounts, the organization was a mess, financially mismanaged and deeply in debt when Johnson got himself elected NCBM president in 2013. But some mayors resented Johnson’s tactics and attempt to seize control. For example, a PowerPoint presentation was distributed to the mayor’s City How Mayor Kevin Johnson continues using public resources for his private gain - Page Burner - June 9, 2015 - Blogs - Sacramento News & Review:
