Source: Sacramento Bee, AP via San Jose Mercury News,  Sacramento Bee
SACRAMENTO -- Former NBA star Kevin Johnson is now running for mayor of Sacramento. In a hotly contested race with six candidates, he's considered one of the most likely to unseat incumbent mayor Heather Fargo who is running for another term.

But Johnson upset local gay and lesbian leaders after making an uncommon appearance at a candidates forum during which he said he believes marriage is between a man and a woman.

Fargo and the five other candidates support gay marriage.

Johnson later issued a statement saying he supports civil unions and equal benefits for same-sex couples. But he added that his religion does not advocate same-sex marriage.

Gretchen Bender, vice president of the Sacramento County Board of Education, says Johnson's statement shows that still has a lot to learn about politics.

"It hit me like a brick," said Gretchen Bender, vice-president of the Sacramento County Board of Education and the first open lesbian elected to public office in the county. "I've been working with Kevin on this issue. But, based on that comment at the forum, I now think he is acting on religious grounds, and he is not ready to lead this city."

Bender and a half-dozen other local gay and lesbian leaders held a news conference Thursday to express their concern about Johnson's statement.

In a statement released by his campaign after the forum, Johnson said, "My religion does not advocate same-sex marriage." He added, "However, I would never thrust my personal beliefs onto others, as I strongly believe that everyone is born equally and entitled to their own ideas and ideals."

"I fully support and will defend the present laws of California recognizing the rights and obligations of same-sex couples in civil unions," Johnson said in the statement. "I also support equal benefits such as insurance and leave for same-sex couples. The issue of marriage is presently before the California Supreme Court, and I will uphold the law as the court makes its decision."

Bender said she wasn't impressed by Johnson's elaboration. "He's giving a political answer to a moral question," she said.

She said she has not endorsed a mayoral candidate, adding that she will probably make up her mind on election day, June 3.

"What I do know is that Sacramento is a community that is rich with diversity," she said. "We are struggling to raise families and dealing with tough economic times, and we have a responsibility to elect a leader that not just tolerates but respects the diversity in this community."

Johnson has mostly avoided the candidate forums embraced by Fargo, whose intimate knowledge of government dwarfs his own. Instead, Johnson said he prefers to spend his time interacting with voters one on one.

"There's still nothing more effective than personally talking to people," he said.

Johnson has run an energetic campaign, according to a profile in local newspaper, The Sacramento Bee. "He doesn't just walk precincts; he attacks them," the Bee reports.

Nearly every day, around 3:30 p.m., Johnson and a troupe of campaign workers descend on some Sacramento neighborhood. They try to knock on at least 300 doors.

Johnson's physical energy and star power are forceful assets in his quest to unseat Fargo. So is his money, reports Sacramento Bee.

Johnson loaned his campaign $500,000. He has appeared at a stream of fundraisers and makes calls soliciting more contributions every day.

His campaign employs about 20 people, two of them temporary transplants from the East Coast. Press aide Christy Setzer worked on the presidential campaigns of Al Gore, Howard Dean and Sen. Christopher Dodd. Johnson's finance director, John Falcicchio, was a top campaign aide for Washington, D.C., Mayor Adrian Fenty, and is on leave from Fenty's office.

Fargo, by comparison, has four people on her campaign staff. Her campaign manager, Dale Howard, said volunteers walk precincts for her on weekends, but her multiple sclerosis makes it too difficult for her to walk them herself.

Johnson has secured endorsements from some of Sacramento's most powerful developers, business and labor groups, including the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and the Sacramento Central Labor Council. But he said his focus is on reaching Sacramentans where they live.

Even though he majored in political science at Berkeley, Johnson said he didn't consider running for elected office until a few months ago, when he decided it was the best way to help his hometown.

His celebrity gives him a significant leg up in his attempt to unseat Fargo, the Bee reports. But fame cuts both ways.

Johnson has been dogged this campaign season by questions and news stories about allegations – never prosecuted or proved – that he inappropriately touched a teenage girl in Phoenix while playing for the Suns, and more recently, a student at Sacramento High, now a charter school run by his St. HOPE organization.

Full article: Johnson's comment on same-sex marriage riles Sacramento's gay and lesbian community | Sacramento Bee
Former NBA star's opposition to gay marriage stirs anger  | San Jose Mercury News (AP)
Johnson goes one on one with Sacramento voters | Sacramento Bee