MICHEL MARTIN, host:
I'm Michel Martin, and this is Tell Me More from NPR News. Coming up, more controversy surrounding Barack Obama's replacement in the U.S. Senate. We'll have an update in just a few minutes.
But first, we have been following the impact the economic downturn is having on people and places around the country. We've been calling our series "Cities in Crisis." Today, we're going to visit with key leaders in two cities: the banking capital, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Sacramento, the capital city of California.
First to Sacramento, you've probably heard that the governor and state lawmakers are struggling to close a huge gap in the state budget. Early this morning came the news that a compromise worked out between the two branches may be in jeopardy because Senate Republicans just ousted their leader in a revolt over tax increases in the plan.
But almost overlooked in the battle over the state's finances is its capital city, where nearly 25,000 private-sector jobs have dried up in just the last year, and the foreclosure crisis has hit particularly hard. Kevin Johnson joins me now. He is the mayor of Sacramento. Listeners may remember him as a former All-Star point guard in the NBA. Welcome, Mr. Mayor. Thanks for joining us.
Mayor KEVIN JOHNSON (Democrat, Sacramento, California): Thank you very much. I'm glad to be here, Michel.
MARTIN: Now, you just - you took office just a little over two and a half months ago. I'm not sure if condolences or congratulations are in order. When you - when you ran, did you realize that this huge economic downturn would be your first priority?
Mayor JOHNSON: I actually did. You know, I campaigned from March 5th through June, won the primary and then won the general in November, been in office since December 2nd. So the economic crisis was very real, and from my vantage point, even though there's very difficult challenges ahead, it's a tremendous opportunity. And I think as mayor of the city of Sacramento, I've got to do my best to make sure that our city's positioned when the market does have an up-tick in the near future.
MARTIN: Now, every part of the country has its own challenges. Last week, we talked to a representative from Indiana, where the manufacturing sector, particularly heavy trucks and heavy equipment, has been hit particularly hard. What are the particular elements in Sacramento? What are the issues driving the downturn there?
Mayor JOHNSON: Well, a couple things. First of all, the foreclosure situation has hit California, Arizona and Florida particularly hard. And in Sacramento, Sacramento being the state capital of California, eighth largest economy in the world, the foreclosure challenges have hit our city in a tremendous way.
Secondly, our unemployment rate is extremely high. We're at double digits now. A year ago, we were at 5.6 percent. So those are two very difficult challenges. And then lastly, the state budget - because we don't have a budget in the state of California, it hits our local economy, because we are the capital city, even that much more so.
MARTIN: And I wanted to ask you about that. As I mentioned - that state lawmakers have yet to resolve a $42 billion budget deficit for this fiscal year and the next one, layoff notices are being sent to state workers around the state. How many of these jobs are in and around Sacramento, and how is this affecting the city, particularly?
Mayor JOHNSON: It's affecting our city in a very negative way. Sacramento is a town that has many government jobs, both city and state. And not only the things that you mentioned - a couple weeks ago, the governor declared furloughs. So on the first and third Friday, there are many workers that are furloughed so they don't come to work, and that impacts our local economy, our restaurants, our hotels and our shops.
So each of those have a negative and adverse effect on our local economy. That's why we need to do everything that we can, and I'm encouraging the legislators to pass the budget in a real way. I mean, they're talking about a $15 billion spending cut, $11 billion in borrowing, and $14 billion in increased taxes. So regardless of what the scenario is, we need to get that budget passed.
And it also impacts us from the economic stimulus package. Because if those dollars float to the state, we do not want them sitting in the state so they're using those dollars to balance the budget. We need those dollars to flow directly to our city.
MARTIN: But what are they - what are you going to do? It sounds, in a way, that you're frozen, that you're waiting for all these entities to act.What are you going to do in the meantime?
Mayor JOHNSON: Yeah, we are in some respects, but we have to advocate - I mean, I have to - you know, I've met with the governor a couple times recently. We're encouraging the Republicans, you know, the Democrats are on board to pass the budget. There need to be three Republican votes to pass this budget. So all of us are advocating and lobbying our legislators on the Republican aisle to make sure that we just get a budget passed.
We need to, you know - California is set up to be out of money very quickly, and for me, I have self-interest involved because as the mayor of the city of Sacramento, I am impacted - our city is impacted even much more so without our budget being passed. We actually have projects relating to transportation, school and flood that are being on hold, are being held up because there's no budget. And we can't put people to work. That's why we have double digits in unemployment rates here in our city.
MARTIN: And along those lines, you were in Washington last week along with three other California mayors - Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles, Jerry Sanders of San Diego, Chuck Reed of San Jose - to lobby the administration for funds from the stimulus package. What would you do with that money? What are you going to do with that money?
Mayor JOHNSON: You know, we have - we're a city that's, you know, primed for this opportunity. You know, the goal initially was, those dollars were going to go to local jurisdictions for shovel-ready projects, projects that were ready to start, you know, within 120 days. So we have projects related to infrastructure, which was a huge parameter and guideline, we have projects related to flood, we have green projects, we have school modernization.
We have every criteria that the state - that the federal government laid out for infrastructure dollars and economic stimulus relief. We are teed up, and I think that's why California, Sacramento is at the front of the line. I think we have the opportunity to have the biggest impact with those dollars.
MARTIN: I understand that you're interested in a new basketball stadium, true?
(Soundbite of laughter)
Mayor JOHNSON: Yes, I am. You know, it's funny. I just came back from the All-Star game in Phoenix, Arizona, and that brought back great memories because I played for the Phoenix Suns. But I got a Legend of the Year Award and...
MARTIN: I know. We were going to congratulate you. You just got ahead of me, congratulations on your honor, Legend of the Year.
Mayor JOHNSON: I appreciate it. Thank you. But in my acceptance speech, you know, I kind of made a connection to, you know, being in the NBA when I was a rookie player and my first couple of years, my grandfather used to always tell me, you need to be prepared for life after basketball, so go into the NBA with an exit strategy.
So when I was playing in the NBA, I would go around to the 29 cities, and I would always get out and meet people and visit their downtowns, and see what made each city unique. Here I am, many years later, taking advantage of - those trips in other cities are actually helping me be a mayor of Sacramento because I got a chance to see best practices around the country.
And a basketball stadium, a basketball arena is much more than that. It's an economic impact. The Kings, the Sacramento Kings, our NBA franchise here, they're an economic engine for our city. They provide jobs, quality of life. So it's much more than just a basketball arena for our city of Sacramento.
MARTIN: Well, there's a...
Mayor JOHNSON: We have a catalyst...
MARTIN: I understand what you're saying...
Mayor JOHNSON: I'm sorry, what?
MARTIN: But there's a lot of debate about that. There really is always a lot of debate about whether these sports arenas really yield what they cost in terms of the tax abatements that people expect and things of that sort. You really think you can make that sell at a time like this, when people are...
Mayor JOHNSON: Yeah, and that's actually where...
MARTIN: So many people are out of work?
Mayor JOHNSON: Yeah, I know, I mean, very good point, and that's actually where I was going. I mean, it's my job to convince the community that this is an investment that has a positive economic impact long term. I mean, when you're talking about the dollars that flow into our city, when you talk about what the Sacramento Kings have done to elevate the profile of our city of Sacramento - to your point, a few years ago, our city declined to vote to - in favor of a finance, publicly finance an arena. So we need to find another way to make sure we get an arena built because we do not want to lose the Kings. But it was very clear that our community does not want to publicly finance an arena at this time.
MARTIN: I can't help myself. I have to ask, tomorrow is the NBA trade deadline. Do you want to lobby for any blockbuster trades to help get the Kings back in the playoff race?
Mayor JOHNSON: Yes, please, please send us, send us Stoudemire from Phoenix and anybody else. We'll be excited. I mean, our attendance is the lowest in the league, and we're not even in playoff contention. So not only is the market difficult, so is the NBA schedule.
MARTIN: I was going to say, good luck with Stoudemire. I think there's a lot of interest there. But thank you. We'll put in a good word for you with our contacts, right?
Kevin Johnson is mayor of Sacramento, California. He's also a former All-Star point guard for the NBA's Phoenix Suns, and as we mentioned, he was honored as Legend of the Year at the All-Star game this weekend. He joined us from Sacramento. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
Mayor JOHNSON: Thanks, Michel. Have a great day. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
