But the newly surfaced video of a teenage girl sitting on her hands in a police interrogation room has proved so powerful nearly 20 years later that it could affect his political prospects more than the transcript of her interview did before, campaign experts said Tuesday. The head of the local Democratic Party, a past Johnson critic, quickly seized on the situation and called for the mayor to resign.
Mayor Kevin Johnson talks about Measure L during a meeting with members of the The Bee’s editorial board on Sept. 17, 2014, in Sacramento. A newly surfaced 1996 video showing a police officer questioning a teenage girl named Mandi Koba, who accuses Johnson of molestation, could affect the mayor’s political prospects, experts say. Randy Pench Sacramento Bee file
Johnson has yet to announce his political plans once his second term expires next year. The video posted last week by the sports website Deadspin poses new problems for Johnson, especially if he tries to introduce himself to unfamiliar voters, said Democratic political consultant Andrew Acosta.
“You read the stories, you read a transcript from a court case and that’s one thing,” he said. “But you see this young girl (in a video) and it has a different impact. We’ve followed the story for years in Sacramento, but if it’s the first time you’ve seen it, I’m assuming it’s powerful to people.”
Johnson has long denied the allegations by Mandi Koba that he molested her when she was a teenager, and authorities who investigated the claims did not pursue charges. The Sacramento Bee previously reported that Johnson and Koba signed a draft settlement agreement for $230,000 in 1997.
Johnson told reporters Monday night that the video of the teenager and ESPN’s decision Monday to shelve its national release of a documentary on Sacramento’s efforts to keep the Kings would play no role in whether he runs for an unprecedented third term next year. He said he would make a decision “pretty soon here.”
