Van R. Johnson (born 1968) is an American politician who has served as the mayor of

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

since 2020. He is the fourth African-American mayor in the city's history. Before becoming mayor, he served four terms as alderman for the Savannah City Council's 1st District.

Early life and education

Born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, Johnson graduated from high school at age 16 and enrolled in Savannah State University, the oldest public

historically Black college and university Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Mo ...

in the state of Georgia. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1990 and a master's degree in public administration from

Georgia Southern University Georgia Southern University (GS or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The flagship campus is in Statesboro, and other locations include the Armstrong Campus in Savannah and the Liberty Campus in Hine ...

Career

After college, Johnson worked as an assistant director of human resources for Savannah's Chatham County and later as a police officer. From 2004 to 2020, he served as alderman for the Savannah City Council’s 1st District, additionally serving as mayor pro tem and vice chair during his tenure. He unseated incumbent Eddie DeLoach in the 2019 Savannah mayoral election and was sworn in as mayor on January 1, 2020. In November 2020, Mayor Johnson was elected among 16 Biden-Harris electors from Georgia for the Electoral College in the

2020 Presidential Election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **C ...

. On November 7, 2023, he was re-elected mayor of Savannah with 77% of the vote against Kesha Gibson-Carter and T.L. Davis.https://www.wsav.com/news/your-local-election-hq/savannah-mayoral-race-2023/

References

1968 births Living people 21st-century American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians Savannah State University alumni Georgia Southern University alumni Georgia (U.S. state) Democrats Mayors of Savannah, Georgia African-American mayors in Georgia (U.S. state) 2020 United States presidential electors Politicians from Brooklyn {{GeorgiaUS-mayor-stub