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  Johnson, Otis
CANDIDATE DETAILS
AffiliationDemocratic  
 
NameOtis Johnson
Address
Savannah, Georgia , United States
EmailNone
WebsiteNone
Born Unknown
ContributorThe Sunset Provision
Last ModifedRBH
Jul 14, 2010 01:01pm
Tags Black -
Info(D) Mayor of Savannah, Georgia

Mayor Johnson is a Savannah native who graduated from A.E. Beach High School in 1960, Armstrong Junior College (now Armstrong Atlantic State University) in 1964 (the first African American to graduate from that school) and the University of Georgia (A.B.) in 1967. He served from 1959 to 1965 in the U.S. Naval Reserve. In 1969, he earned a master's degree in social work from Clark Atlanta University and, in 1980, he received his Ph.D. from the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University.

Before becoming mayor, Johnson worked for the Economic Opportunity Authority, Model Cities Program, and Savannah State University. From 1983 until 1988, he served as the City Council Representative from the second district of Savannah. He then became the Executive Director of the Chatham Savannah Youth Futures Authority.

Johnson served as the Alderman of predominantly Black District #2 in Savannah from 1982 to 1988. He resigned in 1988 to accept a position as Executive Director of the Chatham Savannah Youth Futures Authority. In 1999, he began a four-year term on the Savannah-Chatham County Board of Education.

In November 2003, Johnson was elected to a four-year term as Mayor of Savannah against two-term Alderman Pete Liakakis (Democrat), and four other candidates. He took office in January 2004.

In April 2005, Mayor Johnson publicly challenged Savannah's African American community to begin a concerted effort to address the city's high crime rate, especially in predominantly black neighborhoods of the city. Johnson stressed that criminal acts in Savannah were often perpetrated by young African American males on their own community, and he called a series of well-attended town meetings to address the problem.

On April 2, 2007, Johnson announced he would seek reelection to the office of Mayor. His second campaign is similar to the first in that he is focused on neighborhood improvement, crime reduction, poverty reduction and providing more affordable housing. While campaigning, Johnson announced that Savannah had been declared a Preserve America city by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. [2]

On November 6, 2007, Johnson beat a field of 5 other candidates to win a second term as Mayor. Johnson got 12,826 votes. His nearest competitor got 2,359 votes.




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RACES
  11/06/2007 Savannah, GA Mayor Won 67.95% (+55.45%)
  11/25/2003 Savannah, GA Mayor - Runoff Won 51.00% (+2.00%)
  11/04/2003 Savannah, GA Mayor Won 33.16% (+0.00%)
ENDORSEMENTS
Savannah City Council Post 2 At-Large - Nov 07, 2023 N Patrick C. Rossiter
GA District 01 - D Primary - May 24, 2022 D Wade Herring
Savannah, GA Mayor - Nov 05, 2019 D Van Johnson
Savannah, GA Mayor - Runoff - Dec 01, 2015 D Edna B. Jackson
Savannah, GA Mayor - Nov 08, 2011 D Edna B. Jackson
GA US President- D Primary - Feb 05, 2008 D Barack Obama