Grantland L. Johnson (September 29, 1948 – August 19, 2014) was a Sacramento-area

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

and former Secretary of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

's Health and Human Services Agency, the first African-American to hold the position. He was born in the Del Paso Heights neighborhood in northern section of Sacramento, California. He was raised by his grandmother, Irene Wallace and mother Mae Willie Johnson and grew up with his two sisters, Rosemary and Cathy. Grantland attended Grant High School where he participated in extra curricular activities such as football, the violin, the debate team and baseball.

Political career

Grantland Johnson was one of a limited number of United States politicians who had served in offices on the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

, and

federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

levels. Johnson began his career in politics in 1983, when he was elected to the

Sacramento City Council The Sacramento City Council is the governing body of the city of Sacramento, California. The council holds regular meetings at Sacramento City Hall on Tuesdays at 6:00 pm, with exceptions for holidays and other special cases. Sacramento's city co ...

. As a councilmember, he helped to establish Sacramento's Economic Development Department and Neighborhood Services Department. When Ted Sheedy chose not to seek reelection to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors in 1986, Johnson ran for the District 1 seat, defeating

Roger Dickinson Roger Eugene Dickinson (born September 22, 1950) is an American attorney and former Democratic member of the California State Assembly, serving the 7th district. Before that he was a Sacramento County supervisor. Dickinson was first elected ...

in a runoff election. Johnson was reelected in 1990. Shortly after

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

was elected

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

in 1992, Johnson began to pursue a position in the President's administration. In 1993, President Clinton announced that Johnson had been appointed to the position of Regional Director of the

United States Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

by Secretary of Health and Human Services

Donna Shalala Donna Edna Shalala ( ; born February 14, 1941) is an American politician and academic who served in the Carter and Clinton administrations, as well as in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2019 to 2021. Shalala is a recipient of the Presid ...

. After serving more than six years in the Clinton Administration, Johnson was selected by California Governor Gray Davis in 1999 to become the state's Secretary of Health and Human Services, the largest state agency in the United States. Johnson had announced plans for a political comeback in 2010 as he was running for his old seat on the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors that was being vacated after 4 terms by

who was running for the State Assembly.

Education

Grantland Johnson graduated from

Grant Union High School (Sacramento, California) Grant Union High School is a public high school in Sacramento, California, United States. Notable alumni * Ken Ackerman, radio announcer *Devontae Booker, football player * Leon Brown, baseball player *Don Doll, football player * Gene Filipski, ...

in 1966. Johnson attended American River College, where he received an Associate of Arts degree. He then went on to attend

California State University, Sacramento California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is the eleventh oldest school in the 23-campus California ...

, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Government in 1974. He has been awarded honorary doctorate degrees from Sacramento State and

Golden Gate University Golden Gate University (GGU or Golden Gate) is a private university in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1901, GGU specializes in educating professionals through its schools of law, business, taxation, and accounting. The university offers s ...

. He was a member of

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never restricted membership on the basis of color, creed ...

fraternity, where he was initiated into the Gamma Alpha chapter in 1969.

Awards and recognition

A soccer field in Hagginwood Park–a park in the Del Paso Heights neighborhood of Sacramento, California–was named for Johnson in 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Grantland 1948 births 2014 deaths California State University, Sacramento alumni State cabinet secretaries of California Sacramento City Council members Sacramento County Supervisors United States Department of Health and Human Services officials California Democrats Clinton administration personnel