Mitzi Johnson (born November 18, 1970) is an American
Democratic politician who was the
Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives
The Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives is the Speaker or presiding officer of the Vermont House of Representatives, the lower house of the Vermont Legislature.
The Speaker presides over sessions of the Houses, recognizes members s ...
from 2017 to 2021. She represented the
Grand Isle-
Chittenden (GI-CHI) district (seat number 1), before losing re-election.
Early life and education
Johnson was born in
Clifton Park, New York
Clifton Park is a suburban town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, the 2020 population was 38,029. The name is derived from an early land patent.Bits and Pieces of Saratoga County History by ...
, on November 18, 1970. She graduated from the
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the United ...
in 1993 with a degree in environmental science and international development. In 2013, she completed a
master of public administration degree from
Harvard Kennedy School
The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...
at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
.
Career
After graduating from college, Johnson became a resident of
South Hero. As a public policy professional, her experience includes program and project development for Hunger Free Vermont and the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force. She was also a vegetable grower at South Hero's Allenholm Farm. In addition, she has worked as a substitute teacher, piano teacher and scarf designer.
Johnson was active in South Hero as a volunteer with South Hero Rescue, which provides fire fighting and emergency medical response in
Grand Isle County. She was served on the board of directors of the
Chittenden-Grand Isle County Visiting Nurse Association (2006-2012) and the South Hero Land Trust (1995-2008). From 2002 to 2006, she was a member of the advisory board for the University of Vermont's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. In 2012, she was elected to the
Vermont Electric Cooperative
The Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) is a consumer-owned electric distribution cooperative headquartered in Johnson, Vermont.
In 2019, Vermont Electric Cooperative served about 34,000 members in 74 towns in northern Vermont, including Addison, ...
's board of directors.
Vermont House of Representatives
In 2000, Johnson was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for the
Vermont House of Representatives. In 2002, she was elected to the House and has been re-elected every two years since then. From 2003 to 2007 she was a member of the House Agriculture Committee. From 2007 to 2017, she was on the Appropriations Committee; from 2015 to 2017 she was the committee's chairwoman.
In the November 3, 2020,
general election, unofficial reported totals showed Johnson losing her seat in the two-member Grand Isle-Chittenden district, with the Republican incumbent
Leland Morgan winning 2,768 votes, his nephew and fellow Republican
Michael Morgan winning 2,619 votes, and Johnson trailing with 2,601. Johnson requested a recount, which affirmed Michael Morgan's victory by a 20 vote (2,627 - 2,601) margin.
accessed 4 April 2021
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Speaker of the House
Speaker of the House Shap Smith
Shapleigh "Shap" Smith, Jr. (born December 16, 1965) is an American politician who served as the 92nd Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives.
In August 2015 Smith announced his candidacy for the 2016 Democratic nomination for Governor ...
did not run for re-election to his House seat in 2016, and ran instead for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor. In November 2016, Johnson was a candidate to succeed Smith as Speaker, as were Sarah Copeland-Hanzas and Charles "Chip" Conquest. Johnson and Copeland-Hanzas became the front runners and, by late November, Copeland-Hanzas concluded that Johnson's support among Democratic members of the House was enough to win a contested vote, so she withdrew. In a December 2016 meeting of the Vermont House's Democratic caucus, Copeland-Hanzas nominated Johnson for Speaker and Johnson was unanimously selected as the Democratic candidate for the position. In the full House's January 2017 election for Speaker, Johnson defeated the Republican Linda Myers of Essex.
See also
*List of female speakers of legislatures in the United States
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
References
External links
*"GI-CHI" distric
legislative map
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Mitzi
1970 births
20th-century American women
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians
Candidates in the 2000 United States elections
Harvard Kennedy School alumni
Living people
People from Clifton Park, New York
People from South Hero, Vermont
Speakers of the Vermont House of Representatives
Democratic Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives
University of Vermont alumni
Women legislative speakers
Women state legislators in Vermont