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James Edward Johnson (born December 29, 1960) is an American politician, attorney, and community activist, who was formerly an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury and Under Secretary of the Treasury for Enforcement, where he received the Hamilton Award, the Department of Treasury's highest award. He was a
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
candidate in the 2017 New Jersey gubernatorial race. Johnson also served as co-chair of the National Church Arson Task Force alongside former Massachusetts Governor
Deval Patrick Deval Laurdine Patrick (born July 31, 1956) is an American politician, civil rights lawyer, author, and businessman who served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was first elected in 2006, succeeding Mitt Romney, who ...
, chaired the board at the
Brennan Center for Justice The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is a nonprofit law and public policy institute. The organization is named after Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr. Generally considered Modern liberalism in th ...
, co-founded the non-profit group New Jersey Communities Forward and was appointed as the federal affordable housing monitor in
Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...
. He currently serves as Corporation Counsel of the City of New York, one of the largest public legal offices in the country, with approximately 1,000 lawyers and 680 support professionals.


Early life

Johnson was born in
Montclair, New Jersey Montclair () is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a wealthy and diverse commuter town and suburb of New York City within the New York metropolitan area. As ...
to Byerte W. Johnson and Edward James Johnson III and Chase Hilmes. Johnson graduated from
Montclair Kimberley Academy Montclair Kimberley Academy (MKA) is a co-educational private school for students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade located in Montclair in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. One of New Jersey's largest independent day schools, ...
in 1979, from which he later received a Distinguished Alumni Award. After MKA, Johnson attended
Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
, where he received a B.A. in Social Studies and graduated cum laude in 1983. He also graduated cum laude from
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...
, receiving his J.D. in 1986.


Career

After law school, Johnson served as an
Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...
in the
Southern District of New York The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case citations, S.D.N.Y.) is a federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of New York State. Two of these are in New York City: New Y ...
, successfully prosecuting a wide variety of criminal cases and rising to the Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division.


Clinton administration

During the Clinton administration, Johnson held several senior positions in the
United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...
. He began as the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Enforcement, during which President
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 ...
asked him to co-chair the National Church Arson Task Force, formed in response to a wave of arsons reported at African American churches throughout the South. In 1998, Johnson became the Under Secretary of the Treasury for Enforcement, overseeing the operations of one third of federal law enforcement, including the United States Secret Service; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the United States Customs Service. In total, Johnson oversaw approximately 29,000 employees and a $4.2 billion budget. In the wake of the
Columbine High School Massacre On April 20, 1999, a school shooting and attempted bombing occurred at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, United States. The perpetrators, 12th grade students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 12 students and one teacher. ...
, Johnson was one of the first officials on the ground and fought to close the gun-show loophole that contributed to the massacre. Johnson worked closely with Attorney General
Eric Holder Eric Himpton Holder Jr. (born January 21, 1951) is an American lawyer who served as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States from 2009 to 2015. Holder, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama, was the first African America ...
on the gun-show loophole issue.


Community activism

After serving in the Clinton administration, Johnson returned to private practice as a partner at Debevoise & Plimpton. He subsequently chaired the
Brennan Center for Justice The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is a nonprofit law and public policy institute. The organization is named after Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr. Generally considered Modern liberalism in th ...
at
NYU School of Law New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New ...
, where he worked to protect the right to vote, reduce crime and incarceration and advocated for families facing foreclosure. In 2006, Johnson led the State of New Jersey's Advisory Committee on Police Standards, formed to develop a set of proposals to ensure that the state trooper's progress in eliminating racial profiling became permanent. Johnson's work led to a revision the law that changed the relationship between state troopers and civilian leadership. In 2009, Johnson was selected by a federal judge to oversee the settlement of an affordable housing conflict between the
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the Secretary of Housing and Urb ...
and Westchester County, NY. His task was to hold officials accountable for fulfilling the terms of the consent decree. Since 2014, Johnson has brought together members of New Jersey's civil rights and law enforcement communities in a collaboration known as New Jersey Communities Forward – a project within the NJ Institute for Social Justice. NJCF contributed significantly to the new policies on police worn body cameras, independent shooting reviews and implicit bias training.


2017 New Jersey gubernatorial campaign

Johnson announced on October 31 that he was filing the paperwork necessary to become a candidate for
Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...
. He later named his campaign leadership team, which included Doug Rubin, former strategist for
Deval Patrick Deval Laurdine Patrick (born July 31, 1956) is an American politician, civil rights lawyer, author, and businessman who served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was first elected in 2006, succeeding Mitt Romney, who ...
and
Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a ...
, Bill Hyers, former campaign manager to
Bill de Blasio Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who served as the 109th mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he held the office of New Yor ...
and John del Cecato, one of President Obama's media strategists. Johnson has been critical of Republicans and Democrats in New Jersey, most recently on proposed legislation that would have given Gov. Christie the ability to sign a book deal. On January 10, Johnson announced that he was the first candidate to have reached the fundraising threshold necessary to qualify for public matching funds. Johnson called on his opponents to agree to a $15 million spending cap for the primary election, as the previous record for New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial primary spending was $6.7 million. On June 6, 2017, Johnson lost the Democratic primary election to eventual election winner
Phil Murphy Philip Dunton Murphy (born August 16, 1957) is an American financier, diplomat, and politician serving as the 56th governor of New Jersey since January 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the United States ambassador to Germa ...
, placing in second.


Personal life

Johnson is married to
Nancy Northup Nancy Northup (born 1960) is an American political activist. She is the president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, an abortion rights organization, in New York City. Under her leadership, the Center helped win Whole Woman's Health v. Helle ...
, the president of the
Center for Reproductive Rights The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) is a global legal advocacy organization that seeks to advance reproductive rights, such as abortion. The organization's stated mission is to "use the law to advance reproductive freedom as a fundamental huma ...
. The pair have four children, Natalie, Abby, Miles and Amalya.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Jim 1960 births Candidates in the 2017 United States elections Harvard College alumni Harvard Law School alumni Living people Montclair Kimberley Academy alumni New Jersey Democrats New Jersey politicians People from Montclair, New Jersey