Mar 8, 2008 12:49 am US/Pacific
Mayor Fargo Defends Attack On Kevin Johnson
Mayor Fargo and Kevin Johnson will square off in an on-air debate on CBS13.com at 5 & 6 a.m. on Monday, March 10.
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ―
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Only two days into the Sacramento Mayoral race, Kevin Johnson and Mayor Heather Fargo are pointing fingers.
CBS
Just two days in the Sacramento mayoral race and already the major candidates are pointing fingers.
The mayor is attacking Johnson's financial record and today she delivered the proof. So we've been looking through the documents she gave us. We also gave Johnson the chance to defend the claims.
Juggling the duties of her office and a campaign, the mayor agreed to meet with us to defend the shots she's already fired.
"I just don't think it's fair that because someone is a celebrity that we don't look at them with the same scrutiny as any other candidate," said Mayor Fargo.
Mayor Fargo isn't backing down from continuing to attack Kevin Johnson's financial record and delivered documents that she says, back it all up.
"I think it's time for him to talk and less time for me to talk," said Mayor Fargo.
We were hoping to hear from Kevin today, but his spokesperson said he couldn't meet us for 15 minutes because he'll be in an education conference all day long. We were hoping to show him all the documents the mayor is putting forward as proof.
Johnson's campaign manager, Erin Lehane, released a statement saying: "It is disappointing that the mayor would choose to begin this important campaign by making allegations that are completely untrue. It calls into question her credibility and motives.
It is a disservice to the people of Sacramento to propagate baseless claims that cannot be substantiated for the sole purpose of political gain."
CBS13 also looked into these allegations starting with the property taxes. The Sacramento County Tax Collector's Office looked at the overall payment history of Johnson's Company, Kinship Development. A spokeswoman said he has been late on a handful of payments when he first purchased the property but not delinquent.
As for the city code enforcement violations, there have been approximately 40, mostly citations for overgrown weeds, junk and debris at vacant property in Oak Park, which led to a public demonstration last year.
A city official confirms all the cases have been settled except four cases that are still open. But, a city official says, Johnson is working with the city to resolve the matter.
He's also been accused of having construction liens. All of this adds up to about $45,000 and that's according to the Mayor. We are still going through this document to figure out what's current and what's accurate, and to figure out if this all adds up.
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