SACRAMENTO -- African-Americans locally have a reason for pride these days beyond the election of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama as the nation's next president.

They can look closer to home for that, by seeing Kevin Johnson's pending anointment as the city's first African-American mayor.

Leaders from that community and experts said Johnson and Obama's campaigns often seemed to mirror each other, particularly in making a theme of reaching out to people tired of politics as usual.

"They showed similar support from young people of all backgrounds," noted Shirley Ann Moore, a history professor at California State University, Sacramento, who's specialized in African-American history. "And both elections are historic. With firsts, it's only reasonable to compare the two."

But there are also differences, Moore and others noted, that should be measured against the context of the offices each man sought.

Betty Williams, president of the Sacramento branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, spell out - AP said that she recently started a leadership group of African-Americans to discuss local issues that needed to be addresses.

The top two were promoting economic empowerment and improving education - perhaps not coincidentally, also two of Johnson's main campaign issues, along with public safety.

"The economy is huge for us," said Williams, who also owns a job recruitment and placement business. "The cities around us are doing better financially than we are, and we'll be looking at what kind of companies Kevin can bring here and with them, what kinds of jobs."

If the themes Johnson's campaign focused on are the same as those Williams' group is concerned about, that fits with how Johnson wanted to run his entire campaign, said a spokesman for his mayoral transition team.

"Kevin was born in Sacramento, and obviously his ties to the community of Sacramento run very, very deep," said spokesman Adam Mendelsohn.

That will be reflected in how he governs, Mendelsohn said, adding, "He's learning more about the challenges facing the city of Sacramento, and he wants the entire community to come together to meet those challenges."

Johnson's initial campaign slogan was "A City that Works for Everyone." Williams, of the NAACP branch, said there has sometimes been the perception among African-Americans, particularly those living in some of the city's more downtrodden neighborhoods, that such a slogan hasn't always met reality.

She emphasized that Mayor Heather Fargo, whose bid for a third term fell short against Johnson on Nov. 4, also had strong support among many African-Americans.

"But people were ready to go to a different level," she said of why Johnson won.

The difference between the victories for Obama and Johnson also have to do with their scope. While Obama won the presidency of a nation with a turbulent history of race relations, Sacramento has been less divided, said Moore of Sac State.

"Sacramento actually prides itself on its diversity, and being one of the most diverse cities in the country," Moore said.

Observers also agreed that good feelings over Johnson's election only last so long. With a local, state and national economy in shambles, he, like Obama, will have to make progress toward turning fortunes around.

What won't change, though, is the ability for African-Americans to point to both the White House and the mayor's office and say both are realistic goals for their community to make.

"We feel like we can finally put our suitcase down now without second guessing about whether we belong," Williams said, describing in metaphor the feeling that comes from seeing African-American leaders at the highest levels and business.

"All of these negative images associated with African-Americans, well, you have Kevin as mayor and Obama in the White House," she said. "those are whole new images that are positive."