About Kevin

Kevin Johnson is the 55th mayor of Sacramento. He is the first native Sacramentan, and the first African American to be elected to the office. His vision is for Sacramento to become "a city that works for everyone."

Johnson's dedication to public service began long before he started his tenure as mayor. Upon retiring from the NBA after 12 seasons with the Phoenix Suns in 2000, he returned to his Oak Park neighborhood in Sacramento to serve as the CEO of St. HOPE, a non-profit community development organization he founded in 1989 to revitalize inner-city communities through public education, economic development, civic leadership and the arts. St. HOPE has dramatically improved the community of Oak Park through its holistic community development approach, and is recognized as a national leader in the "transformation high school" movement.

Since taking office in December 2008, Mayor Johnson has accomplished a number of objectives in his ambitious action plan for Sacramento, including:

>> improving public safety by adding more police officers on the street, securing homeland security grants, and hosting a gang summit;

>> championing excellence in public education by meeting with area superintendents and hosting an education summit;

>> boosting economic development by supporting existing businesses and working to bring others to Sacramento, collaborating with President Obama's administration, Governor Schwarzenegger and Congresswoman Matsui to advocate for stimulus funds for the region, and promoting green business development; and

>> setting a new standard for community engagement and accountability by holding office hours and town hall meetings throughout the city, publishing his public calendar, promoting the use of the City's 311 service, and launching Volunteer Sacramento, an initiative designed to make the Sacramento a national leader in volunteerism.

A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, Johnson also served on the Board of Directors for LISC National, the California Charter Schools Association, the UC Berkeley Foundation, the Institute of Governmental Studies National Advisory Council and the Harvard Divinity School SLI Advisory Board. His concern and compassion for children and education prompted President George Bush to honor him with the 411th Point of Light.