Teachers union allies demand Kevin Johnson resign over sex allegations
A Los Angeles-based organization and local activists want Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson to resign in light of resurfaced allegations of sexual misconduct against him.
The Courage Campaign, a group tied to teachers unions that uses an online mailing list to advocate for liberal causes, released a video Thursday featuring television news reports and police recordings on the allegations against Johnson. The video does not include new allegations and as of Thursday afternoon had been viewed 1,600 times on Facebook. Another 122 had seen it on YouTube.
Phoenix police recorded this telephone call between Amanda Koba, then 16, and Kevin Johnson, at the time a 30-year-old basketball player for the Phoenix Suns. The Sacramento Bee in November 2015 obtained the audio after filing a public records request with the Phoenix Police Department. Police redacted the audio file, recorded the evening of July 23, 1996, to exclude portions in which Koba and Johnson discussed specific allegations of sexual acts, though those parts of the conversation appear on a transcript obtained earlier by The Bee. The call came four days after Koba, in an interview with a Phoenix police detective, accused Johnson of molesting her. Johnson was never charged and has denied the allegations. This is the first time the audio file has been made public.The Sacramento Bee
The Courage Campaign launched the video with a new group called the Sacramento Collective for Women’s Rights. The group of about a dozen women formed last month after a 1996 police video surfaced showing a teenage Phoenix girl accusing Johnson of molestation, said Michelle Pariset, a coalition member.
The video’s release was coordinated with an online petition seeking Johnson’s resignation. Laura Leavitt, a campaign manager for the Courage Campaign, said more than 9,000 people had signed the petition nationwide since the group launched it last month. It’s unclear how many of those signers live in Sacramento.
Johnson last month said he will not seek a third term next year. He has said past allegations against him of sexual misconduct did not play a role in his decision.
Ben Sosenko, the mayor’s spokesman, said Johnson will not resign before the end of his term and that the Courage Campaign’s effort “hasn’t gained any traction.”
“The mayor is focused on creating jobs and moving the city forward,” Sosenko said. “Piling on by an extreme, Santa Monica-based group desperately trying to build its email list with a low-budget video based on old allegations … will not change that.”
Leavitt said the Courage Campaign had launched the campaign because it is “especially interested in California politics and holding California politicians accountable.”
“It’s unacceptable for people in power with a long history of allegations to stay in power,” she said.
Courage Campaign’s political issues committee has raised just over $100,000 since 2013, according to the secretary of state’s website. Of that, $51,000 came from the California Federation of Teachers. The California Teachers Association is listed as a partner on the Courage Campaign’s website, along with the American Civil Liberties Union, the California Nurses Association and Planned Parenthood, among other groups.
Teachers unions in Sacramento and in California have battled Johnson, an advocate for charter schools. Johnson’s St. Hope organization operates Sacramento High School as a charter employing nonunion teachers.
Last month, the website Deadspin posted the 1996 police video. Last week, The Sacramento Bee obtained an audio recording of Johnson and his accuser in a conversation recorded by police. Johnson was not charged in the case.
Snippets of the video and audio recordings were included in the Courage Campaign video.
Johnson was accused by a Sacramento City Hall staffer of sexual harassment earlier this year. The allegations were not substantiated by the city attorney or an outside law firm.
He was also the subject of harassment claims that became public during his first run for mayor in 2008. In 2007, Sacramento police investigated a Sacramento High School teacher’s report that a 17-year-old girl told him Johnson had fondled her, but police found “no merit” in the case. The teacher also alleged that Johnson tried to engage inTeachers union allies demand Kevin Johnson resign over sex allegations | The Sacramento Bee: