William A. Johnson Jr.

William A. Johnson Jr. is an American politician who served as the 64th Mayor of the City of Rochester, New York.

For the organ builder, see William Allen Johnson.
William Johnson
64th Mayor of Rochester
In office
January 1, 1994 – December 31, 2005
Preceded byThomas Ryan
Succeeded byRobert Duffy
Personal details
Born (1942-08-22) August 22, 1942[1]
Lynchburg, Virginia, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materHoward University (BA, MA)

Early life and education

Johnson is a native of Lynchburg, Virginia. He earned a B.A. and M.A. in Political Science from Howard University.[2]

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.

Tenure

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 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.

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

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 Robert Duffy, who resigned. As the Independence Party of New York and Working Families Party candidate, Johnson lost to Democrat Tom Richards. Johnson garnered more votes than any previous candidate in New York State on the Working Family Party's ticket.[3]

References
  1. "Bill Johnson - Rochester Wiki". Rocwiki.org. 1942-08-22. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
  2. William A. Johnson Bio
  3. 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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