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Kevin Maurice Johnson (born March 4, 1966) is the current mayor of Sacramento, the capital city of the U.S. state of California. Elected in 2008 and reelected in 2012, Johnson is the first African-American and native Sacramentan to hold the position. Prior to entering politics, Johnson was a professional basketball player in the NBA, playing point guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Phoenix Suns. During his career, Johnson was a three-time NBA All-Star and five-time All-NBA selection, along with holding numerous records for the Phoenix Suns organization. At the University of California, Berkeley, Johnson was named a two-time All-Pac-10 Conference player and an honorable mention All-American by the Associated Press. Johnson founded the St. HOPE Academy, a nonprofit community development corporation focused on education, in 1989.

Early life
Johnson, the son of Georgia West and Lawrence Johnson, was born on March 4, 1966 in Sacramento. After Johnson’s father drowned in an accident on the Sacramento River, he was raised by his grandparents, the Peat family. He attended Sacramento High School, where he starred in both baseball and basketball. In his senior year, Johnson led the state of California in scoring (32.5 ppg) and was named the Northern California Player of the Year.

University of California, Berkeley
Johnson accepted a scholarship to play basketball for the University of California, Berkeley. As a four year starter, Johnson ended his college basketball career in 1987 as the school’s all-time leader in assists, steals, and scoring (since eclipsed by Lamond Murray and Jerome Randle). Johnson was named to the Pac-10’s all-conference First Team in his junior and senior seasons, averaging 17.2 points and 5.0 assists in his final year. He was the first player in the Pac-10 Conference to post a triple-double in statistics. He led Cal to the program’s first post-season appearances in 26 seasons with NIT bids in 1986 and 1987. In 1992 Johnson became the first Bear to have his jersey (number 11) retired. Johnson briefly played for Cal’s baseball team and was drafted by the Oakland Athletics as a shortstop in the 23rd round of the 1986 MLB Draft. After playing a couple games with Oakland’s minor-league team in Modesto, California during the summer of 1986, Johnson ended his baseball career, finding the road to professional baseball more risky and difficult.

Phoenix Suns
Following his senior season of college basketball, Johnson was selected as a lottery pick, going seventh overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1987 NBA Draft. Originally drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers to challenge the incumbent point guard Mark Price of Georgia Tech for the starting spot, Johnson found himself playing limited minutes as Price’s backup during the 1987-88 NBA season. On February 28, 1988, Johnson (along with teammates Mark West and Tyrone Corbin) was traded to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for the forward Larry Nance, Mike Sanders, and a future draft pick. Phoenix also received a draft pick in the trade – one that was used the next season to select the future stalwart swingman Dan Majerle. Adjusting quickly to the change of scenery and increased playing time, Johnson excelled and was named the NBA Rookie of the Month for April 1988, averaging 15.1 points, 86.4% from the free-throw line, 10.6 assists, and 5.6 rebounds. The next year in his first full season with Phoenix, Johnson grew into one of the game’s elite players, averaging 20.4 points, 12.2 assists, 50.5% from the field, and 88.2% from the free-throw line. With those numbers, Johnson joined Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas as the only players in NBA history to average at least 20 points and 12 assists in a season. His rapid improvement earned him the 1988-89 NBA’s Most Improved Player Award. The 1988-89 campaign was the first of three straight seasons in which Johnson averaged at least 20 points and 10 assists, joining Oscar Robertson and Isiah Thomas as the only players in league history to accomplish that feat. Johnson was selected to the NBA All-Star Team in 1990, 1991, and 1994 and made the playoffs every year of his career after his rookie season, reversing the fortunes of the perennially losing Phoenix Suns. Johnson started the 1991 All-Star Game in Charlotte alongside Magic Johnson in the Western Conference backcourt and in anticipation of the game, the Sporting News asked whether Johnson may have surpassed Magic as the best player on the court. The previous spring in the 1990 Western Conference Semifinals, Johnson led the Suns past Magic’s league-best, 63-win Lakers, four games to one. Johnson closed out the series by averaging 33.5 points and 12.0 assists as the Suns won both Game 4 and Game 5. Johnson turned in clutch performances to garner the attention of leading Hall of Fame center and NBC commentator Bill Walton who remarked, “Kevin Johnson…really came to the top of this league in the 1990 playoffs when he waxed Magic Johnson and the Lakers in the early rounds. Kevin Johnson – and the Suns – taking care of business in 1990, four to one over the Lakers… Kevin Johnson just totally outplaying Magic.” Johnson’s performance led the Suns to a second consecutive berth in the Western Conference Finals. Johnson wore number 41 for the 1991 NBA All-Star Game instead of his familiar number 7. NBC announcers Bob Costas and Mike Fratello speculated it was to honor teammate Mark West, who was not selected to participate in the 40th All-Star Game despite his valuable contributions on the boards and in the trenches for the Suns. The 1992-93 Suns, led by Johnson and new teammate Charles Barkley, posted an NBA-best 62-20 record. Narrowly escaping first round elimination versus the Los Angeles Lakers, the 1993 Suns managed to make it to the NBA Finals, where they fell to the Chicago Bulls four games to two. Johnson would suffer two undiagnosed hernia between 1993 and 1996, and was forced to undergo surgery, causing him to miss 109 regular season games but only missed 1 playoff game. He suffered one of the hernias in the 1993 preseason when he attempted to lift hefty [arguably obese] teammate Oliver Miller off the floor, accounting for most of his 33 missed games that regular season. Johnson averaged 17.8 points and 7.9 assists in the playoffs and established an NBA record for Finals minutes played by logging 62 minutes in Game 3 (a 129-121 triple-OT victory) vs. the Bulls. In 1995, the injury-prone Johnson was again slowed by injury but returned to form for the postseason, averaging 24.8 points on 57.3% from the field and 9.3 assists in 10 games, including a 46-point, 10-assist effort in a 115-114 Game 7 loss to the eventual champion Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Semifinals. In Game 4 of the previous year’s series with Houston, Johnson completed a remarkable play, driving the baseline and dunking over 7’0” Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon. The shot became an oft-played highlight for the ages and was part of a second consecutive 38-point, 12-assist effort by the point guard.

International Competition
In addition to his NBA career, Johnson played with the U.S. National Team in the 1994 FIBA World Championship, reuniting with old teammate and rival Mark Price to win the gold medal. Johnson led Dream Team II in both total assists (31) and assists per game (3.9), while shooting 47.1% from the field.

Retirement and Comeback
Johnson retired after the 1997-98 season, but returned briefly during the 1999-2000 campaign to replace the injured Jason Kidd during the playoff run. Johnson helped the Suns win their first playoff series in five years. After Phoenix lost in the second round to the Los Angeles Lakers, Johnson retired for the second and final time.

Basketball Accomplishments and Legacy

 * Three-time NBA All-Star - 1990, 1991, and 1994
 * All NBA-Teams – 1989 Second Team, 1990 Second Team, 1991 Second Team, 1992 Third Team, 1994 Second Team
 * In Johnson’s first seven full seasons in Phoenix from 1989 to 1995, the Suns won the most regular season games in the NBA (394, an average of 56 – the only team to win at least 50 in each of those years) and the second-most playoff games (46, trailing only the Chicago Bulls).
 * One of only three players in NBA history (Isiah Thomas and Magic Johnson) to average at least 20 points and 12 assists in a season.
 * One of only three players in NBA history (Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson) to average at least 20 points and 10 assists per game in three consecutive seasons.
 * One of only four players in NBA history (Robertson, Thomas, and Magic Johnson) to have averaged at least 20 points and 10 assists per game in three different seasons.
 * Along with Magic Johnson, is one of only two players in NBA history to have twice averaged at least 20 points and 10 assists per game over the course of a season while shooting at least .500 from the field. The only other player to produce 20/10/.500 over the course of a single season is Chris Paul.
 * First player in NBA history to average at least 20 points, 10 assists, a .500 field goal percentage, and 2 steals in a season (in 1990-91). He has since been joined in that regard by Paul (in 2008-09).
 * NBA record holder for minutes played in a finals game – 62 minutes in 1993 vs. Chicago Bulls.
 * Phoenix Suns’ all-time leader in free throws made and free throws attempted.
 * On March 7, 2001, Johnson was inducted into the Phoenix Suns Ring of Honor as only the seventh player in franchise history to receive that honor.
 * Received the Silver Anniversary Award for recognition of his myriad of athletic and professional accomplishments from the NCAA in January 2012.

The Kevin Johnson Corporation
Following his initial retirement from the NBA, Johnson completed his B.A. in Political Science from U.C. Berkeley. Johnson is also a 2000 graduate of the Harvard Divinity School Summer Leadership Institute, a program that prepares students for work in faith-based urban economic revitalization. As president and CEO of The Kevin Johnson Corporation, Johnson oversees the operations of several subsidiary organizations specializing in real estate development and management, sports management, and business acquisition. A key component of The Kevin Johnson Corporation includes appearances and public speaking engagements for corporations, academic institutions, and community organizations. Johnson founded the St. Hope Academy in 1989 and served as its CEO until January 2008. St. HOPE is a nonprofit community development corporation whose mission is to revitalize communities through public education, civic leadership, economic development, and the arts. In 2003, St. HOPE formed St. HOPE Public Schools, a pre-K-12 independent charter school system that provides education to nearly 2,000 students in seven small schools.

Election for Mayor’s Office of Sacramento
On March 5, 2008, Johnson announced he would challenge incumbent Heather Fargo for mayor of his hometown Sacramento. Election day was June 3, 2008. Johnson garnered the endorsement of the Sacramento Police Officers Association (SPOA), the Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522, the Sacramento Regional Builders Exchange, the Chamber of Commerce, Realtors’ Association and Labor Council, among others. Johnson was also endorsed by Sacramento City Council members Steve Cohn (Vice Mayor) and Sandy Sheedy, and by former Sacramento Mayor Jimmie Yee. Johnson loaned his campaign $500,000 and raised $800,000, while Fargo raised $340,000 despite having started fundraising in 2005. With all precincts counted, Johnson was ahead of two-time incumbent Mayor Heather Fargo 46% to 39%. Five other candidates split the rest of the vote. The candidates needed more than 50% to win the election so a run-off was forced.

2008 Primary Election for Mayor of Sacramento
Johnson and Fargo had a runoff election in November, won by Johnson. Johnson and Fargo were forced into a run-off when neither received more than 50% of the vote.

2008 Runoff Election for Mayor of Sacramento
Johnson defeated Fargo in the run-off election held in November.

First Term
Johnson was elected Mayor with the vision of making Sacramento “a city that works for everyone.”

Education
In 2009 Johnson launched the STAND UP education initiative to increase student achievement in Sacramento schools. $6 million has been raised to bring education reform and innovative programming to Sacramento. In 2011 Johnson launched another education initiative, Sacramento READS!, in response to the literary crisis in Sacramento. Designed as a 10-year initiative beginning in 2011, Sacramento READS! attempts to ensure all children in Sacramento can read at grade level by the end of 3rd grade through school readiness, attendance, and limiting summer learning loss. Johnson’s efforts on the education front have Sacramento as one of 32 finalists for the distinction of an All-America City 2012 based on its proposal to improve third grade reading. In 2010 Johnson was the Founding Chair of the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Public Schools Task Force and the Co-Chair of U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s Mayoral Advisory Council.

Public Safety
The Gang Prevention Task Force was launched in 2011 forming a three year city-county partnership to reduce gang violence through school-based and job-training programs. Johnson acquired over $17 million in federal and state stimulus dollars for law enforcement and community policing.

Economic Development
Johnson has secured over $500 million in investment and recovery funds for the Sacramento region that has allowed for the revitalization across the central city and the K Street Mall. Johnson has also overseen progress at the downtown Railyards that have been left unutilized since the 1980s and is currently the largest urban infill project in the country. Johnson seeks to use the space as the site of a new entertainment and sports complex.

Sacramento Kings
Johnson led the efforts to keep the NBA’s Kings in Sacramento. In 2010 Johnson launched a regional initiative to create a new downtown entertainment and sports complex (ESC) to replace the outdated Power Balance Pavillion. A new ESC was claimed to create $7 billion in revenue and 4,100 new jobs in the Sacramento region. Following the completion of the 2010-11 NBA season, the Sacramento Kings filed relocation papers and appeared to be headed to Anaheim. However, with a last-second pitch to the NBA Board of Governors in April 2011 where Johnson presented more than $10 million in commitments from regional businesses, the league granted Sacramento another year to reach a deal. Vowing to complete the ESC with no cost to taxpayers, Johnson came to a tentative agreement in February 2012 with NBA commissioner David Stern and the Maloof family, the Kings’ owners, for an estimated $387 million arena. However, this deal fell apart as the Maloofs took issue with some of the terms of the original deal, particularly environmental and pre-development costs that constituted less than 1% of the project’s cost.

Emerald Valley
In an attempt to diversify economic development and go green, Johnson seeks to promote Sacramento as the “Emerald Valley.” Johnson secured $100 million in private funding to create 1,500 new jobs retrofitting commercial buildings and Sacramento was selected by President Obama as one of five cities to participate in the Better Buildings Challenge which provides federal investment to achieve energy efficiency.

Arts
Johnson has made efforts to promote the expansion of funding and participation in local art throughout Sacramento. In response to the interest in arts, Sacramento was chosen by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. as the first city in the nation to pilot the “Any Given Child” program, which is designed to bring equal access to arts programming for children K-8. It currently operates in Sacramento Unified and Twin Rivers Unified School Districts.

Civic Engagement
Volunteer Sacramento was launched to encourage volunteerism and coincided with Cities of Service, a bipartisan coalition of mayors founded in 2009 by 17 mayors from cities around the nation, including Mayor Johnson. In 2009, volunteers across the city logged 1.7 million hours of service, doubling the initial goal of 500,000 hours and creating $22 million in economic impact. In 2010, 3 million hours of service were logged, adding a $70 million economic impact in the region. For these efforts, Sacramento was awarded a City of Service Leadership Grant.

Homelessness
Johnson assumed leadership as Chair of the Regional Policy Board to End Homelessness and joined the United States Conference of Mayors’ national task force on Hunger and Homelessness in 2009. By 2010, 1,560 households were moved into permanent housing and Johnson acquired $5 million in federal funding for the Homlessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program.

Reelection 2012
Kevin Johnson announced he would run for reelection for Mayor of Sacramento on September 14, 2011. Election day was June 5, 2012. Johnson was challenged by three individuals: Jonathan Michael Rewers, Municipal Finance Manager, Leonard Padilla, Bounty Hunter, and Richard Jones, Insurance Broker. Since Johnson received a majority of the vote (more than 50% of the vote), no run-off was required. Johnson raised at least $841,394 in his reelection bid and spent $500,000 of that on the race. Johnson was endorsed by Sacramento City Council members Angelique Ashby (Vice Mayor), Steve Cohn, and Jay Schenirer. Johnson also received support from the Sacramento Police Officers Association, the Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522, and the Sacramento Metro Chamber along with California Senate pro Tem President Darrell Steinberg, Governor Jerry Brown, and Senator Dianne Feinstein.

2012 Primary Election for Mayor of Sacramento
Johnson defeated the three candidates with 58.74% of the votes.

Leadership Roles and Accolades
In June 2012 Johnson was elected the Second Vice President of the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM). He became the first Sacramento mayor to be elected to the Second Vice President position and will be the first Sacramento mayor to serve as President, which he is set to assume in 2014. This represented the second national leadership position Johnson assumed in 2012, as he was previously elected to the First Vice President of the National Conference of Black Mayors, where he will assume the presidency in 2013. Johnson has served on the board of directors for the University of California Alumni Association, Phoenix Suns Charities, Christian Athlete Ministries, Phoenix Symphony, the School House Foundation, Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG), and on the advisory board for the Caring Institute.

Johnson has received numerous awards for his dedication and contributions to his community. In 1991, Former President George H.W. Bush honored Johnson with as the 411th Point of Light recipient in recognition of Johnson’s concern and compassion for children and education. In addition to being selected as one of the “15 Greatest Men on Earth” by McCall's, Johnson has received the NBA’s J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, the John R. Wooden Lifetime Achievement Award 2008, the Good Morning America Award from Sports Illustrated, the “Most Caring American” award by the Caring Institute, and induction into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame in Boise, Idaho.

Sexual Assault and Harassment Allegations
During the summer of 1995, a 16-year-old girl alleged that Johnson had groped her. Johnson apologized to the girl when he was confronted by her with the accusation during a phone conversation recorded by Phoenix police. However, he also stated that “what you’re saying happened, I’m not entirely agreeing happened.” The Sacramento Bee stated that they had received a copy of a proposed settlement agreement, under which Johnson would have paid the girl’s family $230,000. After conducting an investigation, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute, on the grounds that there was not a reasonable likelihood of conviction.

High School Investigation
On April 16, 2008, rival mayoral candidate Leonard Padilla distributed a 2007 report of similar allegations made against Johnson at St. HOPE Sacramento High School. The allegations were investigated by local police, but no charges were filed, and the alleged victim recanted her story. On April 29, 2008, a group of female civic leaders including former Sacramento Mayor Anne Rudin, Sacramento Municipal Utility District board member Genevieve Shiroma, and former State Senator Deborah Ortiz demanded the release of the police report on the matter. The teacher to whom the student initially brought the complaint subsequently resigned over the incident, claiming, “St. HOPE sought to intimidate the student through an illegal interrogation and even had the audacity to ask me to change my story.” Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel responded, saying, “I think the allegations at the school were handled in the way that you would want them handled. Immediately they followed all the normal protocols that they were supposed to follow. I think it was pretty clear there was nothing there… We did ask the young lady whether anyone influenced her – her answer was no.” The Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness said on May 30, 2008, that Johnson’s actions, though ill-advised, were not illegal.

St. HOPE Academy’s Alleged Misuse of AmeriCorps Funds
On April 9, 2009, Acting U.S. Attorney Lawrence G. Brown announced that St. HOPE Academy had agreed to pay $423,836.50 over ten years in settlement of allegations that it did not appropriately spend AmeriCorps grants and education awards and did not adequately document spending of grants. The settlement amount represented one-half of the $847,673 in AmeriCorps funds received by St. HOPE Academy over three years from 2004 to 2007. Johnson, St. HOPE Academy’s founder and former CEO, agreed to pay $72,836.50 of St. HOPE Academy’s $73,836.50 initial payment. In settlement, St. HOPE Academy acknowledged not adequately documenting a portion of its AmeriCorps grant expenditures, and the Corporation for National and Community Service terminated its September 24, 2008 suspension of St. HOPE Academy and Johnson from receiving federal funds, ending questions about Sacramento’s eligibility to receive federal stimulus funds.

Personal life
Johnson married Michelle Rhee, the former Chancellor of the District of Columbia School System, on September 3, 2011, in front of 40 people at a Tennessee mountain resort. They had originally planned to get married the year before, but decided to postpose it in the wake of a large amount of media attention to their nuptials.

NBA

 * Official NBA stats
 * NBA.com Historical Player Info
 * Phoenix Suns Legends

Category:1966 births Category:Living people Category:African-American baseball players Category:African-American basketball players Category:American philanthropists Category:Basketball players from California Category:California Golden Bears men's basketball players Category:Cleveland Cavaliers draft picks Category:Cleveland Cavaliers players Category:Modesto A's players Category:National Basketball Association broadcasters Category:People from Sacramento, California Category:Phoenix Suns players Category:Point guards Category:United States men's national basketball team members Category:Mayors of Sacramento, California Category:African-American mayors Category:African-American politicians Category:American athlete–politicians Category:California Democrats Category:National Basketball Association All-Stars Category:Pacific-12 Conference Men's Basketball Hall of Honor inductees

de:Kevin Maurice Johnson es:Kevin Johnson fr:Kevin Johnson

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pl:Kevin Johnson (koszykarz) ru:Джонсон, Кевин

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Kevin Johnson קווין ג'ונסון ケビン・ジョンソン Кевин Џонсон Kevin Johnson Kevin Johnson