KJ Shifts From Hoops to Politics
Monday, September 22, 2008
By Paul Coro, The Arizona Republic
The arena is now political rather than sporting. The cheap shots come in speeches rather than in the paint.
His mission can only get half of his city behind him.
Kevin Johnson is seven weeks away from a Sacramento mayoral runoff election with two-term incumbent Heather Fargo. Yet, on Tuesday, he was 5 miles west of the arena that used to give him unanimous support as a Suns star.
Johnson flew into Phoenix solely to speak to seventh- and eighth-grade students at Alfred F. Garcia School and promote Phoenix Teaching Fellows, a first-year program that recruits and trains career changers and recent graduates to be teachers in the Murphy and Phoenix Elementary School Districts' high-need classrooms.
A row of chairs was marked for media on the Garcia gym floor. One was occupied. It is ironic because Johnson no longer lives in shadows after years of avoiding interviews (except for Oprah).
But KJ has always changed directions nimbly. The Heat Index's usual proprietor, Bob Young, remembers how Johnson the Suns star always denied that he would enter politics. The California political science major had "no political aspirations." He said he would welcome being away from the spotlight. He did lobby for a tax hike aiding Arizona schools after retirement and heard overtures about running for governor, but he quickly moved on.
He dedicated his time to St. HOPE, his non-profit corporation that aims to revive his old Sacramento neighborhood's economy and schools.
"I had always thought that being an elected official was not something I would do," said Johnson, who remains single. "I thought I could do more outside the political arena. For 19 years, St. HOPE has been doing work outside it. I'm 42 and I was in a transition in my life.
"Sacramento is a city I want to raise my family and have kids in. I just think Sacramento can become so much more. Playing in the NBA, you travel around to all these cool cities, and Sacramento is not one of them.
"I followed the advice of my grandfather. He used to always say, 'You can't stand on the sidelines. Make the difference. If not you, then who? If not now, then when?' "
He is coming off a seven-candidate June election in which he garnered 46.1 percent of the vote to Fargo's 39.4. A majority vote is needed to win. And he still plays to win, closing the experience gap by traveling to meet mayors, like he used to do when he set up meetings to tap the minds of Edward Kennedy, Donald Trump and Clarence Thomas during Suns road trips.
"Basketball is a dirty business," the Democrat said. "You cheat and shove. Politics is even dirtier. Working with all the different egos has helped me work with different constituents. You can't take things personal. You have to paint a collective vision and really inspire everybody to go after that."
Basketball is well in Johnson's rearview mirror, although his connections are not. Shaquille O'Neal will be the featured speaker at a Dec. 26 St. HOPE fundraiser.
Johnson retired in 2000 but looks as though he could take care of the Suns' backup point guard issues. He would disagree. He told Sactown magazine that he tried to dunk on his 40th birthday, only to fall short and not take any shot again.
If November goes right, Johnson would face his first tough decision 10 days later: Kings vs. Suns.
"I have stayed true to this quote: 'My favorite team will always be the Phoenix Suns,' " Johnson said. "They traded for me. They mortgaged the whole future on the big trade. The Sacramento Kings, as much as I hate to admit it, had the sixth pick (in the 1987 draft) and they picked Kenny Smith and I got picked seventh. So I told Sacramento people that I will always hold that against them."
But the budding politician in him then had the final say.
"I may suspend that if I become mayor," he said. "I'll suspend that for four years."
