Kevin Johnson's dream team includes Schwarzenegger Options

[arnoldschwarzene...]

Newly-inaugurated Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, a former NBA point guard, riffed this morning on how he might assemble some of his fellow politicians, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, on a basketball dream team.

"I asked the governor what position did he want to play," Johnson recalled at an event in the state Capitol. "He said, 'Who gets the most highlights?' " Shooting guard, Johnson told him. So Schwarzenegger, who enjoys the limelight, would play shooting guard.

Because it would be a small lineup, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom would play the third guard instead of having a small forward. Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums would be power forward. And Johnson said "our heavy hitter," the center, would be the sturdily built Fresno mayor, Alan Autry. Johnson, the shortest of the bunch, said that in one way politics had already failed to live up to his expectations.

"I played in the NBA for 12 years, and I was always the shortest person on my team -- always," Johnson said. "When I decided to go into politics, I thought I'd be relatively taller." Instead of looking for a pick-up game, the five elected officials announced "Bank on California," a program to encourage people without checking or saving accounts to open accounts at a low cost.

Former President Bill Clinton appeared via a taped video to praise the effort. Two years ago, San Francisco initiated the program, which encourages banks to offer such accounts to those who now must spend an average of about $700 a year for check cashing and other financial services. Now, Los Angeles, San Jose, Oakland and Fresno are engaging in similar efforts, and Sacramento plans to begin soon.