Sacramento Bee Coverage Of Local Mayor’s Race Has Been Awful

Years later in Sacramento, a disgruntled employee of a school run by Johnson made similar allegations about another young woman. The employee, responsible for reporting real abuse, never filed such a report (that would have meant liability). The police interviewed the girl, who refused to substantiate the allegations. (Johnson was accused of improper touching when he put his hands on the girl’s shoulders one day when she was upset). With no complainant and no evidence of wrongdoing, the police dropped the matter.

But now comes the Sacramento Bee seeking a Pulitzer for salacious coverage in a mayoral contest. While tsk-tsking the release of the Phoenix police report – they provided full coverage (the ‘public has a right to know’) of it. Then they “uncovered” a demand letter – presumably from the same lawyer who earlier had demanded $750,000 - for $250,000 that contained “hush” provisions. Although there is no evidence that Johnson agreed to the ‘demand’ or paid over the “hush money”, the Bee treats it as a fact – which provides the hook for Johnson’s opponent, Mayor Fargo, to demand that the Sacramento “case” be reopened. Maybe Johnson paid hush money to that girl, “too”? The Bee, welcoming any official action that might legitimate their coverage, treats the Mayor’s request of the city’s Chief of Police to reopen an “investigation” into charges never filed by anyone as straight news and not the sleazy tactic that it is.

(The Bee was given cover because a federal agency is looking into the propriety of the role of a school official (who also acts as Johnson’s attorney) in the investigation of the non-incident. The official in question interviewed the girl, and then called the police. He probably should have had someone else interview her and call the police. But anyone reading only Bee headlines would get the impression that this lawyer got the girl to change her story – perhaps because she’d been paid off like the girl in Phoenix? Johnson denies this is the case).

The real story here is that Mayor Fargo would lose reelection if voters believe Johnson has the ability to be Mayor. One might expect that the Bee – the only paper in town – would take some responsibility to find out whether he has the ability to be Mayor. Instead, they cooperate with the effort of Fargo operatives to make sexual hanky panky central to “news” coverage of the race.

We know voters care about this – Bill Clinton proves it. After he lied to a Grand Jury about his liaison as a 50+ year old Married President with a 21 year old intern he was impeached.

Then reelected.

Voters demonstrated a far greater sense of salience than the editors of the Sacramento Bee.

Bill Cavala was Deputy Director of the Assembly Speaker’s Office of Member Services where he worked for over 30 years.

Mr. Cavala manages election campaigns for Democratic candidates.