Since Kevin Johnson returned to Sacramento with promises of rebuilding the neighborhood of Oak Park and fighting for his charter school initiative, most of the community was smitten. KJ's always been seen as a good guy -- in Phoenix and at Cal, as well as in his hometown. And he stuck his neck where many men (let alone multimillionaire 40-year-old retirees) wouldn't.But, as relayed in a Sacramento Bee feature, some in Oak Park are unhappy with KJ's work to this point. His organization purchased several parcels and buildings with the intention of redeveloping the poor and blighted neighborhood... but the market has halted and KJ hasn't told anyone what's going on.
A Bee story on Sunday noted that half of the 37 Oak Park parcels owned by Johnson or companies and organizations he founded have been cited by the city in the past decade, some multiple times. The 73 violations resulted in 42 fines or fees totaling at least $32,080.Essentially, folks want KJ to develop the property soon or sell the parcels to someone who will. A frequent comment about KJ's efforts -- going back to his controversial charter proceedings -- is he has trouble delegating power. Perhaps I'm outside the lines, but I think it reflects on his point guard heritage: He's used to having control. Of course, he was a fantastic facilitator in the pros, something he seems to be missing in these endeavors.
About two-thirds of the properties, The Bee reported, remain vacant or empty even though the organizations have owned a large majority of them for more than five years.
