Andre Johnson Jr. | |
---|---|
Member of the
Maryland House of Delegates from the 34A district | |
Assumed office January 11, 2023 Serving with
Steven C. Johnson
[a] | |
Preceded by | Mary Ann Lisanti |
Member of the Harford County Council, District A | |
In office December 4, 2018 – December 6, 2022 | |
Preceded by | Mike Perrone, Jr. |
Succeeded by | Dion Guthrie |
Personal details | |
Born | Edgewood, Maryland | June 19, 1971
Political party | Democratic |
Residence | Edgewood, Maryland |
Education | Edgewood High School |
Website | Campaign website |
Military service | |
Branch/service | United States Army |
Years of service | 1998–2015 |
Rank | Staff Sergeant |
Andre V. Johnson, Jr. (born June 19, 1971) [1] is an American politician. He is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates for District 34A in Harford County. He previously represented District A in the Harford County Council from 2018 to 2022. [2]
Johnson was born in Edgewood, Maryland, and attended Edgewood High School, graduating in 1990. [3] After graduating, he served in the United States Army as an armored crewman, and was deployed in Iraq. He retired from the Army in 2015 as a staff sergeant. [4] Johnson later worked as an investigator for the Baltimore Department of Housing and Community Development, and as a police officer for the Baltimore Police Department from 1997 to 1999. [2]
In 2018 Johnson ran for the Harford County Council in District A, seeking to succeed retiring county councilmember Mike Perrone. [3] He won the Democratic primary over former county councilmember Dion Guthrie by a margin of 199 votes out of 2,633 votes cast. [4] He won the general election on November 6, 2018, defeating Republican challenger Donna Blasdell and becoming the first Edgewood resident elected to the county council. [5]
Johnson was sworn in to the Harford County Council on December 4, 2018. [6]
In February 2019, after it was reported that state delegate Mary Ann Lisanti had described a district in Prince George's County as a " n----- district" in a conversation with another legislator, Johnson said he wanted to hear Lisanti explain in her own words what transpired. [7] After speaking to Lisanti, he called on her to resign. [8]
In June 2021 Johnson announced that he would run for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 34A. [9] He won the Democratic primary on July 19, 2022, [10] and ran on a "Johnson & Johnson" ticket with incumbent Democratic state delegate Steven C. Johnson in the general election. [11] He won the general election on November 8, 2022, coming in first with 29.59 percent of the vote. [12]
Johnson was sworn into the Maryland House of Delegates on January 11, 2023. [2] He is the first African American to represent Harford County in the Maryland General Assembly. [13] Johnson is a member of the House Economic Matters Committee. [14]
In October 2019, following what police called a "targeted shooting" in Edgewood, Johnson called for increased community engagement and working closely with law enforcement to combat gang violence. [15]
In April 2019 Johnson voted against a resolution to expand the Edgewood/Joppa Enterprise Zone to include land meant for a proposed Abingdon Business Park warehouse project, saying that while he supported the enterprise zone's expansion, he had concerns over the expansion's support for the proposed warehouse. [16] In July 2019, he attended a protest against the warehouse's construction. [17]
In February 2022 Johnson said he supported imposing a moratorium to block the proposed construction of a 5.2 million square foot "mega warehouse" on the Perryman Peninsula. [18] In April 2022, Johnson voted for a bill that would place a building development moratorium on the Perryman Peninsula. [19]
In January 2021 Johnson called on U.S. Representative Andy Harris to resign following his opposition to certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election. [20] Harris responded to Johnson a few days later, calling Johnson's calls a "petty political machination" and attacking Johnson for failing to curb drug use and crime in his district. Johnson maintained that it was not a partisan issue and that Harris' response was dismissive of his point. [21]
In December 2021 Johnson voted against the Harford County Council's redistricting plan, which passed on a party-line vote of 6–1. [22] The redistricting map was vetoed by county executive Barry Glassman on December 28, [23] but the county council voted to override the veto on January 4, 2022, with Johnson again voting against the redistricting plan. [24]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Andre V. Johnson | 1,416 | 53.8 | |
Democratic | Dion F. Guthrie | 1,217 | 46.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Andre V. Johnson | 8,156 | 56.2 | |
Republican | Donna Blasdell | 6,339 | 43.7 | |
Write-in | 16 | 0.1 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Andre V. Johnson, Jr. | 4,619 | 42.8 | |
Democratic | Steven C. Johnson (incumbent) | 3,486 | 32.3 | |
Democratic | Sarahia Benn | 2,682 | 24.9 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Andre V. Johnson, Jr. | 13,478 | 29.59 | |
Democratic | Steven C. Johnson (incumbent) | 12,029 | 26.41 | |
Republican | Glen Glass | 10,717 | 23.53 | |
Republican | Teresa Walter | 9,248 | 20.31 | |
Write-in | 72 | 0.16 |