Terry Johnson (Ohio politician)
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Terry Johnson (born June 4, 1956) is an American politician serving as a member of the
Ohio Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the se ...
from the 14th District. He is an
osteopathic physician Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO or D.O., or in Australia DO USA) is a medical degree conferred by the 38 osteopathic medical schools in the United States. DO and Doctor of Medicine (MD) degrees are equivalent: a DO graduate may become licens ...
who was a member of the
Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...
for the 90th district from 2011 to 2018. He was unopposed in the primary and faced Democrat construction worker Ron Hadsell in the general election. Johnson won with 58.38% of the vote. In 2012, he carried 64.07% of the vote as he was easily re-elected to a second term over
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...
City Council President John Haas. He earned a third term in 2014, again carrying 64% of the vote over Thom Davis. Johnson's 2010 election made him the first Republican to capture the seat since 1954, and his 2012 re-election campaign saw him become the first Republican to earn major endorsements and support from area labor unions. In 2011, Johnson was named Family Physician of the Year by the Ohio State chapter of the
American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians The American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP) is a professional association and a medical specialty college in the United States. Its membership consists of osteopathic physicians who practice family medicine, residents and medical ...
.


Ohio House of Representatives


2010 campaign and election

Johnson first considered running for State Representative in 2009. At the time, he was the Scioto County Coroner and serving in Iraq as a member of the Ohio National Guard. Johnson described his thought process in an interview with the Community Common, saying: ''"I have considered running for state representative because it's the right thing to do. We need someone with a good education, a good personality, someone that comes from our area to represent the 89th District. When you set back and look at all the wonderful people we have that do not step up, and you think they should step up, you have to look in the mirror. So, I looked in the mirror."'' Johnson received positive feedback and officially launched his campaign later that year. Shortly after Johnson entered the race, the only other declared candidate—Democrat Bob Walton, Jr. -- withdrew, saying it was "not the right time" for him to run. Two new candidates, businessman Ron Hadsell and Scioto County Commissioner Mike Crabtree, later competed for the Democratic nomination. Hadsell won the nomination in a race so divisive that Crabtree ended up endorsing Johnson and leaving the Democratic party. Johnson received numerous endorsements during the course of the 2010 campaign, including one from the ''
Ironton Tribune ''The Ironton Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Ironton, Ohio. The newspaper is owned by Boone Newspapers. The ''Tribune'' originated in 1928 as a merger of existing publications ''The Irontonian'' and ''The Ironton Register''. ''The Regis ...
'' in which they praised his leadership and experience fighting prescription drug abuse At end of the campaign, Johnson was elected by a wide margin. Immediately after the results came in, he vowed to set his sights on southern Ohio's problem of prescription drug abuse, saying "We know what our priority is here in Scioto County. It’s what is killing us. It’s prescription drug abuse."


First term

Immediately after being sworn into office, Johnson began drafting legislation to address the issue of prescription drug abuse. Just a few months into his first term, Johnson had completed the legislation and introduced it as House Bill 93. The bill put limitations on in-office dispensing of controlled drugs, put licensing requirements on pain clinics and contained a take-back program to help people safely dispose of unused medications. On May 20, House Bill 93 was signed into law by Ohio Governor
John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician, author, and television news host who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001 and as the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, Kasic ...
. HB93 was signed just two months after it had first been introduced, leading the
Ohio News Network {{Table Oghamletters Onn is the Irish name of the seventeenth letter of the Ogham alphabet, ᚑ, meaning "ash-tree", which is related to Welsh ''onn(en)'', from the root was *''ōs-, *osen'' 'ash'. Its phonetic value is The letter's Bríatharog ...
to remark that Johnson's bill had gone from concept to law in "record speed." In addition to pushing through new laws to combat the problem, Johnson also managed to bring a higher awareness to the damage caused by "pill mills" and prescription drug abuse. Kasich and Attorney General
Mike DeWine Richard Michael DeWine (; born January 5, 1947) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 70th and current governor of Ohio. A member of the Republican Party, DeWine began his career as a prosecutor before being elected to the O ...
, in addition to many others, joined Johnson in making the issue a priority shortly after taking office. After keeping his promise to crack down on prescription drug abuse, Johnson also made headlines by fighting against the closure of several guard towers at the
Southern Ohio Correctional Facility The Southern Ohio Correctional Facility (commonly referred to as Lucasville) is a maximum security prison located just outside Lucasville in Scioto County, Ohio. The prison was constructed in 1972. As of 2022, the warden is Donald Redwood. The ...
and publicly opposing Kasich's decision to close the Ohio River Valley Juvenile Correctional Facility.


2012 re-election

Johnson ran for re-election in 2012, though his district had been re-drawn and re-designated from the 89th District to the 90th District. In that campaign, Johnson became the first Republican to earn endorsements from "several statewide and local unions" who cited his willingness to stand up for the interests of his district, even if it meant opposing the leaders of his own party. Johnson went on to easily win re-election, defeating Portsmouth City Council President John Haas by a margin of 64%-36%.


2014 re-election

Johnson won a third term to the Ohio House in 2014, again earning 64% of the vote and nearly doubling the total earned by Democrat Thom Davis. Johnson again earned support from across the political spectrum and earned the endorsement of the ''Ironton Tribune''. In their recommendation, the Tribune praised Johnson for his work combatting drug abuse, saying: "Johnson, a physician and the only medical doctor in the state legislature, has made huge strides in the fight against prescription drug abuse, championing House Bill 93, which effectively shut down pill mills in the area." Johnson cruised to victory, winning all three counties in the district by double digits. He carried Adams County 70%-30%,
Scioto County Scioto County is a county located along the Ohio River in the south central region of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 74,008. Its county seat is Portsmouth. The county was founded March 24, 1804, from Adams ...
64%-36% and Lawrence County 57%-43%.


Ohio State Senate

Johnson was term limited in 2018. He was succeeded by Brian Baldridge. Johnson was hired by Valley View Health Centers to serve as a director. After state senator Joe Uecker resigned to take a position with the
Ohio Department of Transportation The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT; ) is the administrative department of the Ohio state government responsible for developing and maintaining all state and U.S. roadways outside of municipalities and all Interstates except the Ohio T ...
(ODOT), a screening committee selected Johnson to fill the seat in September 2019.


Tenure

On March 5, 2021, he visited the Clermont County Chamber of Commerce to attend a round table discussion with Jeff Weir, Superintendent of the Clermont County Educational Service Center, and Harry Snyder, President and CEO of Great Oaks Career Campuses. They discussed work-ready initiatives and issues facing local school districts.


References


External links


Campaign Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Terry 1956 births Living people American osteopathic physicians Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives People from Portsmouth, Ohio Ohio University alumni 21st-century American politicians Republican Party Ohio state senators