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Andre Johnson Jr.
Johnson in 2023
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 byMike Perrone, Jr.
Succeeded byDion Guthrie
Personal details
Born (1971-06-19) June 19, 1971 (age 52)
Edgewood, Maryland
Political party Democratic
Residence Edgewood, Maryland
Education Edgewood High School
Website Campaign website
Military service
Branch/service  United States Army
Years of service1998–2015
RankStaff 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]

Background

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]

Harford County Council

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]

In the legislature

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]

Political positions

Crime

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]

Development initiatives

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]

National politics

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]

Redistricting

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]

Electoral history

Harford County Council District A Democratic primary election, 2018 [25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Andre V. Johnson 1,416 53.8
Democratic Dion F. Guthrie 1,217 46.2
Harford County Council District A election, 2018 [26]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Andre V. Johnson 8,156 56.2
Republican Donna Blasdell 6,339 43.7
Write-in 16 0.1
Maryland House of Delegates District 34A Democratic primary election, 2022 [27]
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
Maryland House of Delegates District 34A election, 2022 [28]
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

Notes

  1. ^ Not related to Steven C. Johnson

References

  1. ^ "Members – Delegate Andre V. Johnson, Jr". mgaleg.maryland.gov. Maryland General Assembly. January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Andre V. Johnson, Jr., Maryland State Delegate". Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland State Archives. March 15, 2023. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Anderson, David (June 8, 2018). "Four candidates vying for District A seat on Harford County Council". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Anderson, David (August 31, 2018). "Donna Blasdell vs. Andre Johnson in Harford District A council race". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  5. ^ Anderson, David; Hendricks, Ted (November 6, 2018). "Harford votes for Glassman, Gahler, Vincenti, Peisinger". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  6. ^ Anderson, David (December 3, 2018). "Glassman launches second term as Harford County executive with call for unity, compassion". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  7. ^ Broadwater, Luke; Butler, Erika (February 26, 2019). "Maryland delegate's use of racial slur draws outrage from lawmakers, civil rights advocates". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  8. ^ Anderson, David (February 28, 2019). "Harford County organizations call for Lisanti's resignation before House hands down censure". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  9. ^ Whitlow, James (June 28, 2021). "Harford Councilman Andre Johnson announces run for state delegate as political boundaries prepare for redrawing". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  10. ^ Fontelieu, Jason (July 26, 2022). "Here's how Harford County candidates are reacting to election results". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  11. ^ Kurtz, Josh (November 19, 2022). "A look at the latest fundraising in a dozen competitive legislative districts". Maryland Matters. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  12. ^ Kurtz, Josh (November 9, 2022). "Democrats retain legislative majorities, but some seats have shuffled between parties". Maryland Matters. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  13. ^ Fontelieu, Jason (November 10, 2022). "Republicans lead in almost all Harford County state legislature races". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  14. ^ Gaines, Danielle E. (January 5, 2023). "Jones announces new Democratic caucus, committee leaders for 2023 General Assembly session". Maryland Matters. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  15. ^ Butler, Erika (October 1, 2019). "Harford councilman says Edgewood 'can do better' after man killed in what police say was 'targeted' shooting". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  16. ^ Anderson, David (April 11, 2019). "Harford County Council approves expanding Edgewood/Joppa Enterprise Zone". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  17. ^ Anderson, David (July 9, 2019). "Community members protest against Abingdon Business Park warehouse development". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  18. ^ Fontelieu, Jason (February 3, 2022). "Perryman residents urge County Council to pass warehouse moratorium". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  19. ^ Fontelieu, Jason (April 19, 2022). "Harford County Council passes bill imposing moratorium on Perryman Peninsula development". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  20. ^ Carter, S. Wayne Jr.; Barker, Jeff (January 19, 2021). "Harford County Councilman Andre Johnson latest to call on Rep. Andy Harris to resign". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  21. ^ Whitlow, James (January 22, 2021). "Rep. Andy Harris fires back at Harford County councilman's call for his resignation". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  22. ^ Tansill-Suddath, Callan (December 9, 2021). "Harford County Council approves its own redistricting map, bypassing plan from bipartisan commission; Havre de Grace files suit". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  23. ^ Fontelieu, Jason (December 28, 2021). "Harford County executive vetoes County Council's redistricting map". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  24. ^ Fontelieu, Jason (January 4, 2022). "Harford County Council overrides county executive's veto of its redistricting map". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  25. ^ "Official 2018 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for Harford County". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. July 31, 2018.
  26. ^ "Official 2018 Gubernatorial General Election results for Harford County". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. December 11, 2018.
  27. ^ "Official 2022 Gubernatorial Primary Election Results for House of Delegates". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. August 24, 2022.
  28. ^ "Official 2022 Gubernatorial General Election Results for House of Delegates". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. December 7, 2022.

External links