Robert M. Johnson is an American politician. He served on the

Seattle City Council The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-lar ...

representing the fourth district, covering northeast Seattle and the area around the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

, from 2016 until his resignation in April 2019. In 2015, Johnson was elected to the city council after defeating Michael Maddux by a 708-vote margin in the nonpartisan general election. Johnson and Maddux had previously defeated 12-year

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

Jean Godden Jean H. Godden (born October 10, 1931) was a member of the Seattle City Council, first elected in 2003 and re-elected in 2007 and 2011. Council member Godden served three terms and conceded her seat to Rob Johnson in the 2015 election.Seattle Tim ...

in the August primary election. Both Johnson and Maddux ran as progressive urbanists (favoring denser city planning rather than urban or suburban sprawl), defeating slow-growth candidates Godden and Tony Provine. Prior to the election, Johnson was executive director of Transportation Choices Coalition, an advocacy group in Washington state, where he managed their campaign for the

Sound Transit 2 Sound Transit (ST), officially the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, is a public transit agency serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It operates the Link light rail system in Seattle and Tacoma, r ...

rail expansion programs. Johnson was sworn into office on January 4, 2016. Several days later, he was appointed to the

Sound Transit Sound Transit (ST), officially the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, is a public transit agency serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It operates the Link light rail system in Seattle and Tacoma, r ...

board of directors by

King County Executive The King County Executive is the highest elected official representing the government of King County, Washington. The post was established with the implementation of the Home Rule Charter for King County on November 5, 1968. Previously the powers o ...

Dow Constantine James Dow Constantine (born November 15, 1961) is an American politician, lawyer, and urban planner in the state of Washington who is serving his third term as King County Executive, an office he has held since November 2009. He was in the state ...

, replacing fellow councilmember Mike O'Brien. He stated that he would work to make Seattle more affordable, and to implement more transportation and education options. In November 2018, he announced he would not seek a second city council term. Shortly after the announcement, he was offered a position as transportation adviser to the NHL Seattle project. In late March 2019, Johnson announced he would vacate his council seat on April 5, 2019. After his resignation, an interim council member was appointed to take Johnson's place until the November 2019 election. Johnson's family has lived in Seattle for five generations. He lives in the Ravenna neighborhood with his wife, Katie, and their three daughters.

Electoral history

References

External links

Webpage
on Seattle City Council website Living people Seattle City Council members 21st-century American politicians Year of birth missing (living people) {{Washington-politician-stub