By Kevin Johnson
Mayor of Sacramento
It’s a beautiful spring day in Washington, D.C., with the temperature pushing 70 and rain not due until the end of the week. But there’s no time to enjoy the weather. The Sacramento mission is busy.
We are in the final hours Tuesday (April 20, 2010) of the 40th annual Cap-to-Cap trip, which brings 300 community leaders from the Sacramento region to Washington for meetings with federal authorities.
The goal is to win our region’s fair share of federal dollars. As Mayor of the largest city in our region, I do my best to be efficient and stand up for all of our neighbor communities.
California is a donor state, getting slightly more than 70 cents back for every tax dollar we send to Washington. We’re generous to a fault -- too generous in these tough times.
Today, I’m meeting with two members of President Obama’s cabinet, Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan and Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano.
One topic with Secretary Donovan was the foreclosure crisis, and how the private sector and government can come together to help desperate homeowner. Secretary Donovan said he will plan a visit to Sacramento.
I began the morning with breakfast at the U.S. Treasury Department, meeting with Treasurer Rosie Rios. (I accidentally walked into the office of Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, but that’s another story.)
As you can see, the meetings cover a variety of topics. Since arriving in Washington Saturday, I have been to the Pentagon to speak with the Assistant Secretary of the Army Corps of Engineers about our flood problems.
The Corps considers Sacramento the second-most vulnerable city in the U.S. from a flood standpoint, behind New Orleans.
Since running for office, I have made public safety a top priority. And our vulnerability to flooding is a major public safety issue. At the Pentagon, they know exactly how I feel.
Cap-to-Cap, which is sponsored by the Metro Chamber of Commerce, is a chance to spend time with colleagues in an environment away from City Hall. I’ve been able to join Councilmembers Lauren Hammond and Ray Tretheway at meetings, plus Police Chief Rick Braziel.
Finally, there have been a couple of bonuses. It’s always a joy to spend time at a school, and that chance came when I was invited to speak at Howard University.
And the White House called and asked about the progress being made by minority groups in Sacramento. They may send a person to Sacramento to study our community.
It’s another chance to highlight our diversity and hard work in California’s Capital.