William A. Johnson Jr. (born August 22, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 64th Mayor of the City of

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

. He was the first

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

mayor in the city's history.

Early life and education

Johnson is a native of

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner and Abolitionism, abolitionist John Lynch (1740–1820), J ...

. He earned a B.A. and M.A. in Political Science from

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

in 1965 and 1967, respectively. He then moved to

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city in Genesee County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Flint River (Michigan), Flint River northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the Central Michigan, Mid Michigan region. Flin ...

, where he worked at

Mott Community College Mott Community College (officially Charles Stewart Mott Community College or abbreviated MCC) is a public community college in Flint, Michigan. It is named for politician, businessman, and philanthropist Charles Stewart Mott. Its district is ...

and the Flint Urban League. He married Sylvia Andrews McCoy Johnson, Esq., and in 1972 moved to

Career

Prior to his election as mayor, Johnson served for 21 years as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Urban League of Rochester, responsible for developing and overseeing programs and projects in education, youth development, family services, employment training and affordable housing. Under his tenure, the league expanded its expenditures and increased the number of community programs.

Mayor of Rochester

Johnson first entered politics when he ran for Mayor of Rochester in 1993 as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

. In the Democratic primary, he defeated County Legislator Kevin Murray and former City Councilmember Ruth Scott. He received over 72 percent of the vote in the November general election to succeed 20-year incumbent Thomas Ryan. Johnson was the city's first African-American mayor. In November 1997, Johnson was re-elected without opposition. In November 2001, he was re-elected to a third term with over 78 percent of the vote. Johnson announced during that campaign that he would not seek a fourth term. Johnson faced several challenges as mayor, including a declining population, shrinking tax base, rising demand for social services and a high violent crime rate. He became known for his willingness to take risks for city improvement. He introduced a number of innovative programs as mayor, including the Neighbors Building Neighborhoods Program to allow citizen involvement in community planning and the creation of Neighborhood Empowerment Teams and a Community Oriented Policing program to allow citizen input on policing and encourage collaboration between the

Rochester Police Department The Rochester Police Department, also known as the RPD, is the principal law enforcement agency of the City of Rochester, New York, reporting to the city mayor. It currently has approximately 852 officers and support staff, a budget of approxim ...

and residents. In 1998, the city implemented the Rochester 2010 Plan, a long-term urban planning blueprint based on proposals from residents, and in 2002, the city's zoning code was overhauled. The

Rochester International Jazz Festival Established in 2002, the Rochester International Jazz Festival takes place in June of each year in Rochester, New York. It is owned and produced by RIJF, LLC, whose principals are John Nugent, Co-Producer and Artistic Director, and Marc Iacona, ...

was first held in 2002 with Johnson's support. Rochester's fiscal health and credit rating remained strong under his tenure, despite the loss of tax revenue. Other projects Johnson supported were less successful. Johnson spearheaded the '' Spirit of Ontario I'' fast ferry service between Rochester and

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. First approved in 2001, the fast ferry service began in 2004 but was plagued by numerous operational and financial issues, stopping service multiple times, and losing millions of dollars. The ferry's terminal building in Charlotte, which still stands today, was named after Johnson in 2018. This was seen as an "insult" to his legacy by arch-conservative journalist Bob Lonsberry. Despite large amounts of public investment, the city also failed to attract new businesses during his tenure. In 1999, Johnson was named the United States' Local Public Official of the Year by ''Governing Magazine''. In 2004, he was a finalist for the World Mayor Prize. Johnson retired as mayor in 2005 and became a professor at the

Rochester Institute of Technology The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, private research university in Henrietta, New York, a suburb of Rochester, New York, Rochester. It was founded in 1829. It is one of only two institute of technology, institut ...

. Johnson's successor Robert Duffy undid many of the changes he had introduced. The ferry was shut down in 2006, with the city selling the ''Spirit of Ontario'' in 2007. Programs for citizen engagement were shut down, and community policing was replaced with a zero-tolerance policing strategy.

Other political ventures

In 2003, Johnson ran unsuccessfully for Monroe County Executive on a platform of fiscal responsibility and regional cooperation and innovation. In 2011, after a tumultuous period in which the City of Rochester had three different mayors in three weeks after having only three mayors in the previous thirty-seven years, Johnson ran again for Mayor in a special election to serve the remainder of the term of Robert Duffy, who resigned. As the

Independence Party of New York Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

and

Working Families Party The Working Families Party (WFP) is a progressive minor political party in the United States, founded in New York in 1998. There are active chapters in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois ...

candidate, Johnson lost to Democrat Tom Richards. Johnson garnered more votes than any previous candidate in New York State on the Working Family Party's ticket.

References

External links

Interview with William A Johnson, June 2020
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, William A. Jr. Mayors of Rochester, New York African-American mayors in New York (state) New York (state) Democrats Rochester Institute of Technology faculty Howard University alumni Living people 1942 births People from Lynchburg, Virginia 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century mayors of places in New York (state) 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century mayors of places in New York (state)