Former mayor Bob Johnson is running again for Lodi City Council. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)

Johnson, seeking a second term on council, eyes financial plans for Lodi

Big numbers don't faze Bob Johnson.

In a past career, the Lodi City Councilman navigated the fast-paced, high-pressure world of finance at the New York Stock Exchange.

He realizes that attachment — to a financial system on the brink of ruin — might not make him popular at the moment.

Yet, he said, his experience on Wall Street and the courage he developed there suit him well as a leader in Lodi.

The 70-year-old Bronx native is seeking a second term on the City Council. He's competing against four others for two seats in this fall's election.

Shoring up Lodi's financial future is Johnson's top priority, the gregarious city leader said. City officials said this week that projections for the current fiscal year's sales and property tax revenue have declined by roughly $1.5 million since earlier this spring.

That's at a time when Lodi's list of deferred maintenance projects, like fixing outdated city playgrounds and its fleet of vehicles, has stretched beyond $10 million. It comes as debt has grown by millions more, including a $17 million addition in May to refinance Electric Utility District bonds.

That's not to mention the city's General Fund debt, which sits at $23.4 million. The city's total long-term debt, for all funds, is roughly $165 million, according to city spokesman Jeff Hood.

"Big numbers shouldn't scare you," said Johnson, a stout man with light blue eyes, seated at a coffee shop Downtown last month. "Big numbers mean that you've got to make big decisions."

Johnson said he'd take a two-pronged approach to solving Lodi's financial straits: First, he'd continue to streamline the city's budget. All options "would have to be on the table," he said, with employee layoffs as a last resort. The council in November, whoever is on it, will decide how to close the $1.5 million revenue shortfall. Freezing more vacant employee positions, mandating unpaid employee days off and possible layoffs have been discussed.

The second part of Johnson's financial plan, he said, is to kick-start development. He'd do that, he said, by pushing for more industrial and commercial zoning in Lodi's upcoming General Plan update.

During his four years in office, Johnson has been criticized by some as too pro-growth and too close to the Lodi Chamber of Commerce.

The barbs have come on local blogs, newspaper columns and often from his colleague on the council, slow-growth advocate Susan Hitchcock.

The councilwoman contends that recent votes by Johnson and council members Larry Hansen and Phil Katzakian have given the council an "Elk Grove-style" stance on development.

Johnson has refuted that characterization, saying Lodi is in no way growing as fast as Elk Grove. He doesn't regret supporting growth, however, or even "carrying the chamber's water," as J. Kurt Roberts, a local columnist, chided in the News-Sentinel last month.

Johnson served as president of the Lodi Chamber of Commerce in 1994. He recently won the chamber's endorsement for council, over all other candidates.

"I don't make any apologies," Johnson said. "We need money in the community. We need jobs in the community."

Johnson said he could not cite a specific ordinance or resolution he personally initiated during the past four years, instead saying he has worked collectively with the council.

He has championed redevelopment, a plan to revitalize the Eastside, promoted heavily by city administrators.

He also supported hefty utility rate increases in 2005 to stave off a financial crisis.

City reserves as recently as May 2004 fell to just $150,000. That figure jumped above $5 million during the past fiscal year, in part due to policies Johnson has supported.

Dave Kirsten, Johnson's longtime friend, campaign manager and a city planning commissioner, described the incumbent this way: "He votes what he believes is best for Lodi with complete disregard as to whether that will net him votes (during the election)."

Kirsten said Johnson's recent vote favoring major changes to Reynolds Ranch, a planned shopping and senior living center in south Lodi, led to "a lot of flak."

That much-debated vote allowed Reynolds Ranch to nearly double its retail area along Harney Lane, to 78.2 acres. It will also double the amount of traffic generated by the project, according to city planners.

Kirsten added that despite attacks by critics, Johnson has remained loyal to Lodi during the past 30 years. He has even declined to run for higher office when asked several years ago, a point Johnson confirmed.

Indeed, Lodi is Johnson's chosen home. He's a fixture at Downtown diners and coffee shops, where he knows and greets about every other person who walks through the door.

As for the tough decisions that face the council — whether to approve the Wal-Mart Supercenter, what kind of General Plan to OK — Johnson said he's ready to lead.

"We're elected to make those decisions," he said. "If we make dumb decisions, you can kick us out."

Contact reporter Chris Nichols at chrisn@lodinews.com.