Andre V. Johnson, Jr. (born June 19, 1971)[1] is an American politician. He is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates for District 34A in Harford County. He previously represented District A in the Harford County Council from 2018 to 2022.[2]
Andre Johnson Jr. | |
---|---|
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates from the 34A district | |
Assumed office January 11, 2023 Serving with Steven C. Johnson[a] | |
Preceded by | Mary Ann Lisanti |
Member of the Harford County Council, District A | |
In office December 4, 2018 – December 6, 2022 | |
Preceded by | Mike Perrone, Jr. |
Succeeded by | Dion Guthrie |
Personal details | |
Born | Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, U.S. | June 19, 1971
Political party | Democratic |
Children | 5 |
Education | Edgewood High School |
Website | Campaign website |
Military service | |
Branch/service | United States Army |
Years of service | 1998–2015 |
Rank | Staff Sergeant |
Background
editJohnson was born at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Edgewood, Maryland,[2] and attended Edgewood High School, graduating in 1990.[3] After graduating, he served in the United States Army as an armored crewman, and was deployed in Iraq. He retired from the Army in 2015 as a staff sergeant.[4] Johnson later worked as an investigator for the Baltimore Department of Housing and Community Development, and as a police officer for the Baltimore Police Department from 1997 to 1999.[2]
In 2018 Johnson ran for the Harford County Council in District A, seeking to succeed retiring county councilmember Mike Perrone.[3] He won the Democratic primary over former county councilmember Dion Guthrie by a margin of 199 votes out of 2,633 votes cast.[4] He won the general election on November 6, 2018, defeating Republican challenger Donna Blasdell and becoming the first Edgewood resident elected to the county council.[5]
Harford County Council
editJohnson was sworn in to the Harford County Council on December 4, 2018.[6]
In February 2019, after it was reported that state delegate Mary Ann Lisanti had described a district in Prince George's County as a "n----- district" in a conversation with another legislator, Johnson said he wanted to hear Lisanti explain in her own words what transpired.[7] After speaking to Lisanti, he called on her to resign.[8]
In June 2021 Johnson announced that he would run for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 34A.[9] He won the Democratic primary on July 19, 2022,[10] and ran on a "Johnson & Johnson" ticket with incumbent Democratic state delegate Steven C. Johnson in the general election.[11] He won the general election on November 8, 2022, coming in first with 29.59 percent of the vote.[12]
In the legislature
editJohnson was sworn into the Maryland House of Delegates on January 11, 2023.[2] He is the first African American to represent Harford County in the Maryland General Assembly.[13] Johnson is a member of the House Economic Matters Committee.[14]
Political positions
editCrime
editIn October 2019, following what police called a "targeted shooting" in Edgewood, Johnson called for increased community engagement and working closely with law enforcement to combat gang violence.[15]
Development initiatives
editIn April 2019 Johnson voted against a resolution to expand the Edgewood/Joppa Enterprise Zone to include land meant for a proposed Abingdon Business Park warehouse project, saying that while he supported the enterprise zone's expansion, he had concerns over the expansion's support for the proposed warehouse.[16] In July 2019, he attended a protest against the warehouse's construction.[17]
In February 2022 Johnson said he supported imposing a moratorium to block the proposed construction of a 5.2 million square foot "mega warehouse" on the Perryman Peninsula.[18] In April 2022, Johnson voted for a bill that would place a building development moratorium on the Perryman Peninsula.[19]
National politics
editIn January 2021 Johnson called on U.S. Representative Andy Harris to resign following his opposition to certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election.[20] Harris responded to Johnson a few days later, calling Johnson's calls a "petty political machination" and attacking Johnson for failing to curb drug use and crime in his district. Johnson maintained that it was not a partisan issue and that Harris' response was dismissive of his point.[21]
Redistricting
editIn December 2021 Johnson voted against the Harford County Council's redistricting plan, which passed on a party-line vote of 6–1.[22] The redistricting map was vetoed by county executive Barry Glassman on December 28,[23] but the county council voted to override the veto on January 4, 2022, with Johnson again voting against the redistricting plan.[24]
Personal life
editJohnson is married and has five children.[2]
Electoral history
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Andre V. Johnson | 1,416 | 53.8 | |
Democratic | Dion F. Guthrie | 1,217 | 46.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Andre V. Johnson | 8,156 | 56.2 | |
Republican | Donna Blasdell | 6,339 | 43.7 | |
Write-in | 16 | 0.1 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Andre V. Johnson, Jr. | 4,619 | 42.8 | |
Democratic | Steven C. Johnson (incumbent) | 3,486 | 32.3 | |
Democratic | Sarahia Benn | 2,682 | 24.9 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Andre V. Johnson, Jr. | 13,478 | 29.59 | |
Democratic | Steven C. Johnson (incumbent) | 12,029 | 26.41 | |
Republican | Glen Glass | 10,717 | 23.53 | |
Republican | Teresa Walter | 9,248 | 20.31 | |
Write-in | 72 | 0.16 |
Notes
edit- ^ Not related to Steven C. Johnson
References
edit- ^ "Members – Delegate Andre V. Johnson, Jr". mgaleg.maryland.gov. Maryland General Assembly. January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "Andre V. Johnson, Jr., Maryland State Delegate". Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland State Archives. March 15, 2023. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
- ^ a b Anderson, David (June 8, 2018). "Four candidates vying for District A seat on Harford County Council". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
- ^ a b Anderson, David (August 31, 2018). "Donna Blasdell vs. Andre Johnson in Harford District A council race". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
- ^ Anderson, David; Hendricks, Ted (November 6, 2018). "Harford votes for Glassman, Gahler, Vincenti, Peisinger". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
- ^ Anderson, David (December 3, 2018). "Glassman launches second term as Harford County executive with call for unity, compassion". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
- ^ Broadwater, Luke; Butler, Erika (February 26, 2019). "Maryland delegate's use of racial slur draws outrage from lawmakers, civil rights advocates". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
- ^ Anderson, David (February 28, 2019). "Harford County organizations call for Lisanti's resignation before House hands down censure". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
- ^ Whitlow, James (June 28, 2021). "Harford Councilman Andre Johnson announces run for state delegate as political boundaries prepare for redrawing". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
- ^ Fontelieu, Jason (July 26, 2022). "Here's how Harford County candidates are reacting to election results". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
- ^ Kurtz, Josh (November 19, 2022). "A look at the latest fundraising in a dozen competitive legislative districts". Maryland Matters. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
- ^ Kurtz, Josh (November 9, 2022). "Democrats retain legislative majorities, but some seats have shuffled between parties". Maryland Matters. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
- ^ Fontelieu, Jason (November 10, 2022). "Republicans lead in almost all Harford County state legislature races". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
- ^ Gaines, Danielle E. (January 5, 2023). "Jones announces new Democratic caucus, committee leaders for 2023 General Assembly session". Maryland Matters. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
- ^ Butler, Erika (October 1, 2019). "Harford councilman says Edgewood 'can do better' after man killed in what police say was 'targeted' shooting". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
- ^ Anderson, David (April 11, 2019). "Harford County Council approves expanding Edgewood/Joppa Enterprise Zone". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
- ^ Anderson, David (July 9, 2019). "Community members protest against Abingdon Business Park warehouse development". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
- ^ Fontelieu, Jason (February 3, 2022). "Perryman residents urge County Council to pass warehouse moratorium". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
- ^ Fontelieu, Jason (April 19, 2022). "Harford County Council passes bill imposing moratorium on Perryman Peninsula development". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
- ^ Carter, S. Wayne Jr.; Barker, Jeff (January 19, 2021). "Harford County Councilman Andre Johnson latest to call on Rep. Andy Harris to resign". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
- ^ Whitlow, James (January 22, 2021). "Rep. Andy Harris fires back at Harford County councilman's call for his resignation". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
- ^ Tansill-Suddath, Callan (December 9, 2021). "Harford County Council approves its own redistricting map, bypassing plan from bipartisan commission; Havre de Grace files suit". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
- ^ Fontelieu, Jason (December 28, 2021). "Harford County executive vetoes County Council's redistricting map". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
- ^ Fontelieu, Jason (January 4, 2022). "Harford County Council overrides county executive's veto of its redistricting map". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
- ^ "Official 2018 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for Harford County". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. July 31, 2018.
- ^ "Official 2018 Gubernatorial General Election results for Harford County". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. December 11, 2018.
- ^ "Official 2022 Gubernatorial Primary Election Results for House of Delegates". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. August 24, 2022.
- ^ "Official 2022 Gubernatorial General Election Results for House of Delegates". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. December 7, 2022.
External links
edit- "Members – Delegate Andre V. Johnson, Jr". mgaleg.maryland.gov. Maryland General Assembly. January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2023.