In honor of twenty years of providing musical education to youth in the region, the Sacramento Children’s Chorus will hold its 20th Anniversary Concert, For the Joy of Singing, on Sunday April 21, 2013 at 4:00 pm in the historic Crest Theatre in downtown Sacramento.  All five choirs that make up the SCC will perform delightful pieces from musical greats such as Rodgers and Hammerstein, Irving Berlin, Louis Armstrong, and Mozart, just to name a few.   There will be a special film tribute, and songs will be sung from movies in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Crest Theatre building.

In addition, this special concert will showcase an alumni ensemble.  Former SCC singers from across the nation will gather to perform at the Crest, celebrate the Sacramento Children’s Chorus, and pay tribute to the positive long-term impact that singing has made on their lives.

Artistic Director and SCC founder Lynn Stevens says, “We strive to develop skilled, passionate and confident students through exceptional music education and performance experiences.”   The choirs sing in many languages and honor diverse cultures and religions.

The past two decades have been marked with numerous milestones.  More than 2,000 children from all over the Sacramento area have:  collaborated with well-known adult choirs like the Sacramento Choral Society; performed in England, France, the Czech Republic, Scandinavia, New York (Carnegie Hall), and Hawaii; appeared at gubernatorial inaugurations and the opening of legislative sessions; and participated in Mayor Kevin Johnson’s “For Arts Sake” initiative (part of the Kennedy Center’s “Any Given Child” program) at Sacramento City public school assemblies.  In addition, the SCC has hosted choirs from as far away as Korea.

This summer, over 30 singers will tour China — representing Sacramento and the United States as music ambassadors and performing a multicultural repertoire in some of China’s best recital halls in cities such as Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai.

In times like these, with arts education virtually disappearing from our schools, the continued existence of an organization like SCC is more important than ever.  SCC provides children with an opportunity to fall in love with music and develop strong vocal abilities.  Not only that, SCC provides audiences with an opportunity to be inspired by beautiful music.  Learning and sharing music enriches our community beyond measure.

20TH ANNIVERSARY HIGHLIGHTS: For the Joy of Singing – 20th Anniversary Concert will be held on April 214 p.m. at the Crest Theatre, Sacramento. Tickets are $50 for VIP seating and reception after concert, $40 reserved, $25 general, $15 students. The Tour of China will be held June 18-30. Pre-tour concert TBA.

For more information and tickets, visit  www.sacramentochildrenschorus.org or call (916) 646-1141.

When the City of Sacramento announced this fall that the Clunie Hall Community Center, located at 601 Alhambra Boulevard at McKinley Park, was in jeopardy of closing this July due to city budget issues, a community-wide campaign was launched to keep it fully operating. Residents and business owners of East Sacramento, members of McKinley Library, and McKinley Park enthusiasts didn’t waste any time to save their 75 year-old iconic building.

SAVED! Local businesses and residents stepped up to save the Clunie Community Center, which houses the McKinley Library. The iconic East Sacramento structure celebrated its 75th birthday last October. / Image courtesy, Friends of McKinley Library. Painting by East Sacramento artist David Lobenberg

“We have $29,000 for this fiscal year to pay for everyday maintenance such as the heating, air conditioning, janitorial and part time staff for the Clunie Center. We could not guarantee that we could continue to allocate that much for the building,” explained Lori Harder, City Administrative Manager of Parks and Recreation. “The potential of closing the community center and eventually the adjoining McKinley Library, those two things happening were very alarming for the community around McKinley Park. So members of the community stepped up to raise funds and manage the building.”

Friends of East Sac rally

The initial rally to help raise funds came from members of the non-profit group, Friends of East Sac. According to the organization’s Website, the funds represent the committee’s commitment to support those in need and the community.

“Friends of East Sacramento – with the support of every of East Sacramento and Midtown neighborhood association, Councilman Steve Cohn, the Friends of McKinley Library, the city, and donations by hundreds of neighbors – has stepped forward with a 3 year plan to provide non-profit management for the Clunie,” the Website stated. “This will help ensure that the McKinley Library could continue to stay open. The Friends of East Sacramento will model the operation after the very successful Sierra 2 Center in Curtis Park. The nonprofit model of the operation of public facilities is growing nation-wide. But keeping it open and managed by a nonprofit takes start-up money.”

Successful drive

The rebel cry was a success. Within four months, Friends of East Sac, led by East Sacramento resident Cecily Hastings, collected over $60,000 from local businesses, residents, and park supporters to help pay off the City’s $45,000 operating budget.

“We got the call right before the Christmas break and I can tell you, in the past four years we don’t get that kind of good news too often anymore with all the closures of parks and recs. So yea, it was a great Christmas present,” said Harder. “Without the group’s efforts, the Center was most likely to close in July, along with the library inside.”

“We’ve established a $60,000 building fund because this is an old building and we’ve already figured out it’s a money pit,” said Hastings at a City press conference held on Jan. 17 with Mayor Kevin Johnson, Councilmember Steve Cohn and Nancy Cornelius from McKinley-East Sacramento Neighborhood Association (MENA). “We want to restore it to its glory of probably what it was 75 years ago.”

Blueprint to follow

THE CLUNIE HALL COMMUNITY CENTER is an icon built in memory of a Sacramento businesswoman who served the community. In 1934, Florence Turton Clunie’s estate bequeathed $150,000 to build the center – over $2.5 million in today’s dollars. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Stephen Crowley

At the press conference, Mayor Johnson said the work in East Sacramento is “a blueprint that challenges other areas of the city.”

Harder expanded on the Mayor’s sentiments by adding that this action by residents and businesses in East Sacramento is a community model that the City hopes will continue to emerge to help keep parks and community centers open as the budget deficit continues to chip away at those assets.

“We do have several other community centers that are (scheduled) to close, so we put out calls to non-profits and big local corporations if they want to talk to us about taking over responsibility of other community centers, to keep them open for community meetings, programming for kids, teens and adults,” Harder said. “A great example of this model is the Sierra 2 Center, run by the Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association. It makes the Curtis Park neighborhood one of the most unique communities in Sacramento.”

Negotiating a transition

Currently organizers of Friends of East Sac are in negotiations with the City to take over the Center and run the facility at a lower cost than the city has. Organizers believe that, with proper management, the Clunie Hall Community Center could bring in $100,000 a year.

“We are working with their advisory committee to finalize the lease and transition base. They have people with facility management, grant writing, and marketing skills,” Harder said. “We hope the transition will be sometime by this spring or by July. We have great faith this organization will do a superb job in maintaining this center.”

“I bring my family out here to enjoy the park all the time, and this Center has served the community and has enhanced the lives of others in so many ways,” said supporter Robert Schmitt. “We know these are difficult times for many people, but this is a place that anyone can come and benefit from such as the McKinley Library, and the events held inside. I’m glad we have a community that cares so much.”

Clunie by the Numbers

The Clunie Hall Community Center was named for a life-long Sacramento resident, Florence Turton Clunie, wife of pioneer and state congressman Thomas J. Clunie. She was a notable Sacramento businesswoman in her own right. Upon her death in 1934, her estate donated $150,000 for the building of a community center and pool in McKinley Park. The City of Sacramento pitched in an additional $20,000 to establish the McKinley Library at the north end of the new building. Both opened to the public in late 1936.

The Center boasts a beautiful lobby with an art deco look, reminiscent of the 1930s when it was built.

Annual attendance:

Classes organized by Parks and Recreation with private instructors: 5590

Estimated number of people through rental activity (community and nonprofit meetings and events, weddings/family events, library programming, etc.): 33,753

Examples of classes:

Feldenkrais

Piano for Beginners

Spanish 4 Toddlers

Following Sacramento City Council approval last week, SolarCity and the City of Sacramento are moving forward to install 1.9 megawatts – more than 8,000 solar panels – of new solar power capacity across four municipal sites later this year. The project is expected to be the largest solar power project undertaken by the City of Sacramento. Once operational, the panels are expected to produce approximately 2.6 million kilowatt-hours of solar electricity in their first year, enough to power approximately 250 homes. SolarCity will finance, install and maintain the solar installations.

“This project is a triple win for Sacramento – it will save taxpayers money by lowering the City’s energy costs, reduce pollution by generating renewable power, and create more local jobs to install the panels,” said Mayor Kevin Johnson. “It’s our goal to become a greener city and generating clean energy on our facilities is keeping with that commitment.”

The sites identified as part of this project include:

· City Hall in downtown Sacramento;

· The building at 300 Richards Boulevard that houses the police department and building and planning offices;

· Corporation yard on Meadowview Road that houses the City’s sanitation fleet and other services;

· South Area Corporation Yard off Fruitridge and 28th Street.

As part of the agreement, the City of Sacramento will pay for the power produced through a power purchase agreement (PPA) at a rate that is anticipated to be lower than what they pay for grid electricity, which is expected to create savings for taxpayers over the systems’ lifetimes.

“The City’s new solar projects should help us pass the 100-employee mark in Sacramento this year,” said Dennis Cox, regional director for SolarCity. “It’s possible for Sacramento businesses and residents to save money by using cleaner power, just as the City is doing, and we expect solar adoption to continue to increase in the area as a result of the City’s leadership.”

SolarCity has undertaken more than 700 solar projects in the Sacramento area, ranging from major manufacturing facilities and retail outlets, to hundreds of homes. The company recently expanded into a new, 15,000 square-foot operations center in Sacramento to house its 81 local employees, more than doubling its local facility space.

At his weekly press conference on Nov. 5, Mayor Johnson received questions regarding the topic of potential consolidation opportunities between the city and county.

“Our community should always seek new ways to make government more effective in serving our citizens,” he said. “This is especially true in tough times. I think it’s worth having a robust dialogue on how the region can work better together. Consolidation has been one topic many folks have been exploring, and I encourage us to continue this conversation in an open, inclusive and transparent way.”

Johnson noted that he has no specific plan, process or timeline on the issue, but hopes to foster further dialogue in concert with leaders and citizens across the city and region.

The LEED-nominated Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library opened Aug. 28 and cost $15 million to build. / Valley Community Newspapers photo by Danny Kam

Big, round chairs that invite one to sit down and stay awhile are just one of the great features of this new library, where everything is state-of-the-art. So much so, that the library is nominated for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver accreditation.

About 500 people showed up to attend the grand opening celebration that took place Saturday, Aug. 28.

Robbie Waters, Sacramento City Councilmember for District 7, who spent many years helping to plan the library, thanked all who participated in donating their time and money to the construction and furnishing of this 15,387 square foot library.

Mayor Kevin Johnson said it is an impressive building.

“It feels like a Borders in the middle of the Greenhaven-Pocket area,” Johnson said. “It has a big meeting room, public computers, it is kid-friendly and energy efficient. A real tribute to Robbie Waters.”

Many Sacramento City Council members attended the event, along with State Senate President Pro Tem Daryl Steinberg and Nathan Dietrich, district director for Congresswoman Doris Matsui.

Waters said the $15 million cost to build the library came from the City of Sacramento Community Reinvestment Capital Improvement Project Funds, Freeport Regional Water Authority Mitigation Funds, and City of Sacramento Council District 7 Discretionary funds.

Enhancement funds came from Roger and Carolyn Fong in memory of their daughter, Michele Fong Beam, First Five of California and Friends of the Pocket-Greenhaven Library.

Library patrons checked out brand-new books, dvds, cds and audio books at the new library. There were 158 new library cards issued on opening day. / Valley Community Newspapers photo by Danny Kam

“This is a happy day for Sacramento,” Steinberg said. “This is an opportunity to be thankful. For a down economy, three new libraries opened this year. Three things make a library important: It is a place for people of all walks of life to gather, it provides access and exposure to institutions of education and it creates lifelong learners.”

“I love this library,” said Ian Briggs, an eleven-year-old, who attends Matsumoto Elementary School and was busy using one of the new kids’ computers.

Friends of the Library member Kathy Donovan said the new facility is a beautiful, fantastic place for the community.

“It is within walking distance for many people,” Donovan said. “Another convenience is the Friends bookstore to the left at the entrance of the library that sells used books between 50 cents and a dollar and is open during library hours.”

Yvonne Correa, who also said she is very excited that she can walk to the library in eight minutes, is looking forward to bringing her grandchildren here.

“I appreciate the large print books,” Correa said. “Your eyes don’t work as well as you get older.”

Many people who attended the opening celebration walked to the library from their homes, bringing kids and babies in strollers. There is a large bike rack for cyclists.

Robbie Waters, councilman for Sacramento's District 7, checks out a book from the new library which bears his name.

It didn’t take but a few minutes, once inside the library, for people, old and young alike to start using the new facilities. Most of the computers in the adult section and the kids section were in use. A woman with book in hand sat in a comfy chair, reading in the well-lit room, undisturbed by the large crowds drifting through.

The special features of the library include:

Radio Frequency Identification, a time-saving device where embedded chips in the books and other materials allow the borrower to check out a stack of books all at once, without having to scan each item individually.

A 72-seat community room for meetings and events. It has a built-in projector, sound system and a drop-down viewing screen.

Forty Internet-access computers, a Kid’s Place where parents and caregivers are able to share stories, a Ready to Read Center that offers computers with early-learning software for children, ages eight years and younger and a Teen Room, with comfortable reading chairs, and computer stations.

Lots of smiling faces could be seen checking out the new library. As they perused the isles, there was a lot of “oohing” and “ahhing” over the many custom features available.

The Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library is located at 7335 Gloria Drive in Sacramento. Library hours are: 12 noon–8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 1 p.m.–5 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturday, Closed Sunday and Monday. Learn more by calling (916) 264-2700 or visit www.saclibrary.org.

Milestone to house homeless is ahead of three-year goal

SACRAMENTO – Today Mayor Kevin Johnson announced that‘Sacramento Steps Forward’ has provided permanent housing for over 1,168 families, a milestone that is ahead of a three-year goal of 2,400 by November 2012.

“I ran for mayor to make Sacramento a city that works for everyone. In these challenging economic times, I am proud to announce that the city, county and federal governments partnered with the faith community and service providers to house an unprecedented number of families,” Johnson said.

“This is regional collaboration at its best– working to give a hand up to the least among us. Building on this achievement, together we can step forward and end homelessness in the Sacramento region.”

‘Sacramento Steps Forward’ is a united and regional initiative to find comprehensive solutions to the long-standing issues involving homelessness. Johnson launched the initiative last November. It also provides leadership and oversight of the 10-year Plan to End Homelessness which was adopted by the City and County in 2006.

The initiative is guided by five goals: permanent housing, empowering services, regional advocacy, sustainable funding, and real accountability.

Mayor Johnson also discussed the need to ensure a safety net is in place on the way to permanent housing, which includes an effective blend of emergency shelters, transitional housing and prevention, with goal being to empower individuals and families to be successful and self sustaining.

Johnson was also joined by members of the faith-based community and private donors to celebrate the ‘One Day to End Homelessness’ Campaign that recently reached its $400,000 fundraising goal.

The campaign was a one-time opportunity that asked citizens to donate one day’s worth of their rent or mortgage payment to the Sacramento Region Community Foundation in order to leverage federal dollars needed to support those less fortunate in the Sacramento region.

The campaign officially began in March, where over 80 faith-based groups asked their congregants to make donations during their weekend services.

For every dollar privately raised, the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) of Sacramento County has received $4 in funds from the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Emergency Contingency Fund.

HPRP will now receive $1.6 million in matching funds, allowing up to 1,800 eligible families and individuals to be served in Sacramento County.

“This is a huge achievement, but we don’t want to stop here. We will continue to raise funds and create awareness for an issue that affects so many in our region. Together with the Mayor’s leadership, the support of service providers, and the faith community, we will find a way to meet the challenges of homelessness one person at a time,” said Pastor Rick Cole of Capital Christian Center.

HPRP currently employs a “Housing First” strategy to prevent and curtail homelessness in the Sacramento Region. It is a cost-effective and proven solution that prevents the near-homeless from losing their homes and shortens the time homeless families and individuals displaced by the economy spend in shelters.

In Sacramento County, three HPRP providers–Salvation Army, Lutheran Social Services, and Volunteers of America–were chosen to provide four core HPRP component services: Screening and Assessment, Financial Assistance, Housing Locator Services, and Stabilization Services.

Mayor Johnson is currently chair of the Policy Board to End Homelessness in Sacramento and focusedon finding long-term, comprehensive solutions that will end homelessness in our region.

Since taking office, Johnson has lead the progress to end homelessness by facilitating the closure of ‘tent city’, finding solutions for winter shelter, and reaching an accord with ‘Safe Ground’ members, an advocacy group that has brought attention to homelessness in our community. His campaign slogan, “A City That Works for Everyone,” was designed with the homeless population in mind.

For more information about Sacramento Steps Forward, go to: www.sacramentostepsforward.org

*THIS INFORMATION BASED ON SEMI-OFFICIAL RETURNS REPORTED BY THE SACRAMENTO COUNTY REGISTRAR OF VOTERS.

Since 1992, no incumbent Sacramento City Councilmember has lost a re-election bid; on Tuesday night, that all changed.

The June 8 Primary Election has changed the make-up of the Sacramento City Council.

The June 8 Primary Election was a defining moment in politics statewide: for the first time, the California Republican Party was running not one, but two women for statewide office, with Meg Whitman as the party’s gubernatorial nominee and Carly Fiorina as the GOP pick to run against Barbara Boxer in the U.S. senate race. Adding to this historic development was the local result – Sacramento City Councilmembers Ray Tretheway, from Natomas’ District 1, and Robbie Waters, representing Pocket-Greenhaven’s District 7, have apparently lost in their race to serve another four years at City Hall. It’s been 18 years since such an upset has occurred in Sacramento City politics.

According to semi-official results released June 9 at 1:48 a.m. by the Sacramento County Registrar of Voters, both incumbents lost to political newcomers, Tretheway falling to Natomas grassroots campaigner Angelique Ashby, and Robbie Waters being edged out by Ryan Chin and Darrell Fong. Tretheway, who claims he was a target because he would not support Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson’s strong-mayor initiative, had been recently seen by political watchdogs as very vulnerable, especially as Ashby scored a number of major endorsements and political allies (Johnson being one of them). Waters, who ran twice unopposed (most recently in 2006), faced a tough fight of his own, desperately trying to fend off two candidates that were as equally funded and organized.

The District 7 Race

According to the semi-official results, Chin was the big winner Tuesday night, taking in 38.45 percent of the vote; Fong came in second with 31.41 percent; Waters, the four-term incumbent and only Republican on the City Council, garnered 27.44 percent; and college student Diedre Hobart came in a distant fourth place. With no candidate earning a clear majority, the results set up a likely run-off election this November between the first- and second-place winners, Chin and Fong, respectively.

Waters, who has served on the City Council since 1994 and raised more money and spent more money in this election than any other City Council candidate, was fighting a determined battle in his re-election bid. Challengers Chin, a strategic communications officer with Sacramento State, and Fong, a retired Sacramento Police captain, seized early on to the anti-incumbent sentiment sweeping the U.S.

In their first public debate held last spring, the District 7 challengers came out swinging, saying that Waters was out of touch with the current needs of the district. Waters, for his part, pointed to a number of recent accomplishments, such as the building of a new library; however, the library issue had turned into a slight political misstep among some Pocket voters as the new building was named after Waters. Some screamed impropriety; Waters and his supporters have said the councilmember simply followed the wishes of library volunteers.

Also dampening Waters’ re-election momentum was news that his son, Dan, had been allegedly involved in a city scandal involving building permits in Natomas, an area off-limits to new construction due to persistent flood concerns. Although the councilman had no direct connection to the permit mess, Waters nonetheless appeared in a number of news reports discussing the situation and deflecting character attacks.

In a special interview prior to the election with Valley Community Newspaper reporter Celia Green, Waters had said that he hoped to serve one more four-year term and then retire from city politics. That retirement, it seems, will come early.

The District 3 Race

Although the Pocket-Greenhaven community saw quite the political upset, the District 3 race was anything but; Councilmember Steve Cohn, Midtown and East Sacramento’s longtime representative on the City Council, will remain in office for another term. The incumbent had faced a strong challenge from East Sacramento Chamber of Commerce President Chris Little and Midtown business owner Shawn Eldredge, but the incumbent persevered, winning his bid for a fifth term as the District 3 representative.

Cohn, who will now be one of Sacramento’s longest-serving councilmembers, garnered 53.95 of the vote, winning a clear majority and avoiding a run-off election in November. Little and Eldredge scored 37.73 percent and 5.52 percent, respectively, while candidate Jeff Rainforth garnered the remaining votes.

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Race

A bruising primary election will likely turn into a bruising general election: candidates Scott Jones and Jim Cooper, both captains with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, did not win a clear majority of votes and will now face one another again in the November General Election.

In what has been one of Sacramento’s most hotly contested races, Jones and Cooper threw mud, hurled accusations, and laid charges of political impropriety and professional misconduct. The race has also come to represent a battle between two law enforcement legacies, as Cooper, endorsed by former Sheriff Lou Blanas, and Jones, endorsed by outgoing Sheriff John McGinness, attacked one another for their political connections as much as their administrative philosophies.

Jones came out on top in Tuesday’s race, but not by much, taking in 46.17 percent of the vote; Cooper came in second and garnered 41.37 percent of the vote; a third candidate, Bret Daniels, drew the remaining votes.

Sacramento County voters can expect the war of words to continue into the fall. The 2010 General Election is Nov. 2.

Sacramento Area Race Results listed as “semi-official” by the Sacramento County Registrar of Voters (winners listed in CAPS, % of vote listed in parentheses, incumbents listed as necessary):

Sacramento City Council, District 1

ANGELIQUE ASHBY (50.98%)

Ray Tretheway, incumbent (41.55%)

Efren M. Guttierrez (7.36%)

Write-in (.12%)

Sacramento City Council, District 3

STEVE COHN, incumbent (53.95%)

Chris Little (37.73%)

Shawn Eldredge (5.52%)

Jeff Rainforth (2.69%)

Write-in (.11%)

Sacramento City Council, District 5

JAY SCHENIRER* (47.04%)

Patrick Kennedy (34.32%)

Henry Harry (6.41%)

Terrence Johnson (6.04%)

Leticia Hilbert (6.00%)

Write-in (.19%)

*(As no candidate won a clear majority of 50-percent-plus-1-vote, Schenirer will likely face Kennedy in a run-off election in November, according to semi-official results)

Sacramento City Council, District 7

RYAN CHIN* (38.45%)

Darrell Fong (31.41%)

Robbie Waters, incumbent (27.44%)

Diedre Hobart (2.67%)

Write-in (.04%)

*(As no candidate won a clear majority of 50-percent-plus-1-vote, Chin will likely face Fong in a run-off election in November, according to semi-official results)

Sacramento County Board Of Supervisors, District 1

PHIL SERNA (71.60%)

Keith Weber (28.15%)

Write-in (.25%)

Sacramento County Board Of Supervisors, District 2

JIMMIE YEE, incumbent (78.05%)

Raymond Kemp (21.73%)

Write-in (.22%)

Sacramento County Board Of Supervisors, District 5

DON NOTTOLI, incumbent (70.01%)

Lovie Kirkland (29.75%)

Write-in (.24%)

Sacramento County Assessor

KATHLEEN E. KELLEHER (63.98%)

David A. Benson (21.60%)

Margaret Pennington (14.28%)

Write-in (.14%)

Sacramento County District Attorney

JAN SCULLY, incumbent (79.39%)

Julius M. Engel (20.44%)

Write-in (.14%)

Sacramento County Sheriff

SCOTT JONES* (46.17%)

Jim Cooper (41.37%)

Bret Daniels (11.77%)

Write-in (.70%)

*(As no candidate won a clear majority of 50-percent-plus-1-vote, Jones will face Cooper in a run-off election in November, according to semi-official results)

For complete Sacramento County election results, visit http://sacresults.e-cers.com/default.aspx. For information on statewide races and ballot measures, visit www.sos.ca.gov.

E-mail Ryan Rose at ryanrose@valcomnews.com.

Eighteen years after she retired as Sacramento’s mayor, Anne Rudin made it clear last week to a capacity audience at California State University, Sacramento that she’s totally opposed to current mayor Kevin Johnson’s plan to install a strong mayor system for the city.

Former Sacramento Mayor Anne Rudin, pictured here with former City Council colleague Michael Sands, made it clear she’s totally opposed to current mayor Kevin Johnson’s plan to install a strong mayor system for the city. (Photo by Art German)

She indicated that her answer to all three questions is a resounding “no.”

Rudin, who served 21 years on the Sacramento City Council, including two four-year terms as mayor before retiring in 1992, was introduced during the CSUS Friday forum by a former City Council colleague, Michael Sands.  The scene was the Hinde auditorium in the Student Union, an event sponsored by the Renaissance Society, a learning program at the university for retirees.

Sands, a retired attorney, served on the City Council with Rudin during the 1970s, “and we were good friends,” he added.  Sands now heads the Renaissance Society’s forum committee and introduced Rudin as the weekly speaker.

Johnson’s strong mayor plan would give him authority to hire (and fire) such key officers as city manager and city attorney. The strong mayor arrangement would also give Johnson (and all future mayors) wide discretion to make decisions for such current issues as developing the city railyards; restoring the K Street mall as Sacramento’s downtown hub; and relocating the current basketball arena site of the Sacramento Kings without necessarily obtaining approval from the City Council.

Although a cornerstone of his 2008 election campaign, Mayor Johnson has had difficulty implementing his vision for a change in city governance policy. Mayor Johnson’s plan had originally had been earmarked for the ballot this June but the action was disqualified by the courts.  The fate of the strong mayor plan is currently up in the air and it will be up to the City Council to decide on what final action to take.

Rudin said the current council-manager form of government is widely used throughout the U.S. and provides opportunities for the mayor to exercise leadership – “and he doesn’t just have to be a figurehead.”

But if the relationship is changed to one in which the mayor can veto an action that is supported by a majority of the City Council,  “it would make the council and the mayor ‘adversarial,’” she said.

“Is this democracy?” Rudin asked.  “Is there really a need for such a change?  I am sure that Sacramento would be tied up with legal disputes for a long, long time.”

Rudin said the change to a strong mayor system might also create problems for Sacramento in its relations with the county, which doesn’t have a mayor at all in its overall government structure.

Recalling her own years as mayor, she noted that problems with the other council members were inevitable from time, but we always tried to work them out. 

“You just needed to sit down and talk it over with the other people,” she said.

Such cooperation, she added, led to joint city-county planning for successful outcomes of the closing McClellan and other military bases during recent years.

At the end, Rudin did sidestep one comment from a Renaissance Society member.  As a reply to one questioner who asked if men or women would be more effective mayors, she replied, “I can’t answer that” and the forum was ended.

E-mail Art German at reporter@valcomnews.com.

Mayor Kevin Johnson

The move was announced April 1 at Sacramento City Hall in front of a crowd of shocked city residents.

“I promised the city and the voters when I was elected that I would bring a new arena to downtown, and I plan on delivering on that promise,” Johnson said. “Previous mayors have tried to build a new arena, but they were always held back by a lack of funds.”

For a number of years, the city has attempted (and failed) to craft a deal to build a new sports and entertainment complex for the Sacramento Kings. The Kings’ current home, Arco Arena off Interstate 80, is one of the most dilapidated sports venues in the NBA. Although officials with the state of California and the city have negotiated with the NBA and local developers to build an arena at the abandoned downtown railyards, talks recently began to stall and it seemed as if the Kings might be moved to a town more hospitable to building a world-class sports center. Now, Johnson said, the city doesn’t have to worry about whether or not the Kings would be moving away.

“Now we know they’re going for sure,” the mayor said. “And that fact really eases my mind.”

Johnson said that the decision to sell the Kings was a difficult choice, but he was able to convince the Kings’ owners, the Maloof family, when he explained that it was likely the only way the city would be able to provide the team a new arena. The mayor said the Maloofs were originally lukewarm to the idea, but were ultimately on board when he explained the logic behind the decision.

“I said, ‘Joe, Gavin, other Maloofs, the Sacramento Kings team is our city’s most valuable asset besides the Tower Bridge – and we can’t sell the Tower Bridge because it is bolted to the ground.’ The Maloofs immediately understood,” Johnson said.

Although the Maloofs are behind the deal now, they had earlier proposed another plan to generate revenue to support arena construction.

“We had offered to buy the name of the city from Mayor Johnson,” Gavin Maloof said. “We figured we pay, like, a million bucks for the naming rights to Sacramento. I suggested we call the city ‘The Capital brought to you by the Maloofs,’ but Joe said we should call the city ‘Kings.’ I agreed.”

Fortunately, according to star Kings player Tyreke Evans, that proposal was rejected by Johnson.

“I mean come on, we would have been the ‘Kings’ Kings.’ That is the dumbest thing I ever heard,” Evans said.

Johnson said he and the Maloofs put the team up for sale on eBay last week. After a bidding match by the cities of Seattle and San Jose, the New York borough of Queens was named the winner of the online auction, paying a little over $30 million to move the Kings to the East Coast.

Evans said he is excited by the move and plans to work hard to build fans at his new home. He is also satisfied that the new name of the team will be slightly less embarrassing than the “Kings’ Kings”

“Yeah, we are going to be the Kings of Queens,” said Evans, shaking his head. “Wow.”

The mayor said the $30 million should arrive sometime next week.

“I asked for cash,” Johnson said. “I’ve been burnt on eBay before.”

The mayor hopes construction on the new arena could start as soon as January of next year.

“The new arena is going to be great,” Johnson said as he finished his press conference. “Oh, and by the way Sacramento, promise kept.”

If you’ve made it this far through the story and haven’t yet realized that it is a fake, let me wish you a happy April Fools Day! Please send the inevitable complaints to ryanrose@valcomnews.com. Special thanks to Mayor Kevin Johnson and the rest for being such good sports.