William A. Johnson Jr.

William Johnson
64th Mayor of Rochester
In office
January 1, 1994 – December 31, 2005
Preceded by Thomas Ryan
Succeeded by Robert Duffy
Personal details
Born (1942-08-22) August 22, 1942[1]
Lynchburg, Virginia, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Alma mater Howard University

William A. Johnson Jr. is an American politician who served as the 64th Mayor of the City of Rochester, New York. He was first elected in November 1993, receiving over 72 percent of the vote. It was his first run for any political office, and he succeeded a 20-year incumbent. Johnson was the city's first African-American mayor.

In November 1997, Johnson was re-elected without opposition in either the primary or general elections. In November 2001, he was re-elected to a third term with over 78 percent of the vote. Johnson announced during that campaign that he would not seek a fourth term.

Education and early career

Prior to his election as mayor, Johnson served for 21 years as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Urban League of Rochester, responsible for developing and overseeing programs and project in education, youth development, family services, employment training, and affordable housing.

Johnson is a political scientist by training, earning B.A. and M.A. degrees from Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1965 and 1967, respectively. He was honored by his alma mater in March 2003 with an Alumni Award for Distinguished Postgraduate Achievement. Johnson is a native of Lynchburg, Virginia.

Mayoral tenure

In 1999, Johnson was named the United State's Local Public Official of the Year by Governing Magazine. In 2004, he was a finalist for the World Mayor Prize.

At the center of Johnson's efforts to revitalize Rochester was the Neighbors Building Neighborhoods Program, or NBN, which introduced the principles of meaningful citizen participation and empowerment to every city neighborhood. NBN has been called "arguably the boldest and most successful citizen empowerment process in modern America."[2]

A 2006 analysis of NBN by Cornell University found that "numerous milestones have been achieved. Through NBN, hundreds of neighborhood projects have come to fruition, while many others have broken ground. These projects include physical improvement, beautification projects, the construction of new schools and stores, better public services, and increased public safety measures. NBN also received awards for its successful neighborhood revitalization efforts, and is recognized as a model of best practices."[3]

Johnson retired as Mayor in 2005 and became Distinguished Professor of Public Policy at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Other political ventures

In 2003, Johnson ran unsuccessfully for Monroe County Executive on a platform of fiscal responsibility and regional cooperation and innovation. In 2011, after a tumultuous period in which the City of Rochester had three different mayors in three weeks after having only three mayors in the previous thirty-seven years, Johnson ran again for Mayor in a special election to serve the remainder of the term of former Mayor Robert Duffy who resigned. As the Independence and Working Families' Party's candidate, Johnson lost a close election to Democrat Tom Richards. Johnson garnered more votes than any previous candidate in New York State on the Working Family Party's line.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Bill Johnson - Rochester Wiki". Rocwiki.org. 1942-08-22. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
  2. ↑ Favro, Tony (2012). Hard Constants: Sustainability and the American City. London: City Mayors Foundation. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-615-69950-9.
  3. ↑ Min Fen Kooi, Adeline (2006). Neighbors Building Neighborhoods: A Critical look at Citizen Participation in Rochester. Ithaca: Cornell University.
  4. ↑ Favro, Tony (2012). Hard Constants: Sustainability and the American City. London: City Mayors Foundation. pp. 103–120. ISBN 978-0-615-69950-9.
Political offices
Preceded by
Thomas Ryan		 Mayor of Rochester, NY
1994 – 2005		 Succeeded by
Robert Duffy
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