Kevin Johnson enjoys watching a Phoenix Suns basketball game.
Since retiring from basketball and returning to his home town of Sacramento, NBA star Kevin Johnson has been active in the community.
Like many ex-pro athletes, Kevin has returned to his roots, spearheading efforts to help both his former high school and neighborhood. Yet, he hasn't stopped there. Feeling that his hometown was headed in the wrong direction, Kevin decided to run for mayor.
Johnson is battling incumbent Heather Fargo and, thanks to a recent vote that was too close to call, the pair will face each other in a runoff election this November to decide the winner.
According to the AP:
Johnson won 47 percent of the vote, compared with Heather Fargo's 40 percent, while five lesser-known challengers split the rest of the vote. The candidates needed more than 50 percent to win the contest outright.
Johnson was ebullient Tuesday night in a brief address to energized supporters at an inner-city art gallery he helped develop.
"They said we didn't have enough experience.They said we mismanaged the campaign.They said all the negative stuff would stick," he said. "The prognosticators were wrong."
Kevin Johnson's campaign outspent Fargo's by three-to-one, and voter turnout was only around 20 percent.
His candidacy has survived two sex-related controversies, (one accusation dating back to 1995), and another, more recent, allegation of inappropriate contact with a teenager. No charges were filed in either case.
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