K.J. doesn't get to increase his mayoral budget

It is sad, but unfortunately not surprising, to learn that Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson is seeking to enhance his office’s status at taxpayer expense.

Johnson’s signature issue—more than keeping the Kings, more than making Sacramento a “world-class city,” as he defines it—has been to strengthen the power of the mayor and enhance the political heft and national profile of his office.

And voters have spoken, clearly, on that matter, defeating Measure L last November, with 57 percent of the electorate saying “no” to the “strong mayor” form of government.

But apparently Johnson doesn’t want to take “no” for an answer, and so he moved to expand his own staff by increasing his office’s budget. Understandable, but also problematic. Instead of simply asking for five more staff members, the mayor hid—or rather, attempted to hide—three of those new staff members in the city manager’s office, so that his growing staff would be less obvious to the majority of voters, who clearly don’t want the mayor’s power to exceed the limitations defined in the city charter.

This is not the first “end run” Johnson’s attempted when he doesn’t get what he wants. Bottom line: Johnson can command the lights and cameras. His “bully pulpit,” thanks to his celebrity, is more powerful than that of any mayor before him. He should use it to focus on what matters in the day-to-day lives of citizens, and quit trying to game the system.