Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson was all over the map during his first year of office. But now he is promising to focus.
Focus. Focus. Focus.
Job number one, he says, is to make Sacramento a leader in protecting the environment and recruiting clean energy jobs. He calls this his “green initiative” and he plans to roll out details on Tuesday.
This a worthy cause. Sacramento residents care deeply about their environment. We love to spend time outdoors. Because of that, we have an up close and personal relationship to our air, our water, and our parks. We also want to diversify our economy.
Yet if Sacramento wants to be a leader in this field, it needs to take a hard look at itself. This city continues to ship its trash to Nevada. It has made little progress in installing water meters. Our air is cleaner, but still unhealthy.
Can the mayor attract high-paying, clean tech jobs to the city? Yes, but to do so, he must redouble his efforts to make this a clean place to live. We can’t just say we are green. We need to walk the walk, and we need to be willing to pay the price.
Stuart Leavenworth is editorial page editor of The Sacramento Bee.