- Otis Johnson
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For the jazz musician, see Otis Johnson (musician). For the MLB player, see Otis Johnson (baseball).
Honorable Otis Samuel Johnson 
Savannah, Georgia Mayor Otis S. Johnson 64th Mayor of Savannah, Georgia Incumbent Assumed office
November 2003Preceded by Floyd Adams, Jr. Personal details Political party Democratic Alma mater A.E. Beach High School [1]
Armstrong Junior College[1]
University of Georgia[1]
Clark Atlanta University[1]
Brandeis University[1]Profession Educator Website official site Otis Samuel Johnson is a politician from Georgia, U.S. and, as of September 2007, the current Mayor of Savannah. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Contents
Background
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.[1] 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 College/ Atlanta University and, in 1980, he received his Ph.D. from the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University.[1]
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.[1]
Political career
City Alderman
Johnson served as the Alderman of 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.[2]
County Board of Education
In 1999, he began a four-year term on the Savannah-Chatham County Board of Education.
Mayor
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.[3]
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.
Johnson endorsed candidate Barack Obama in the presidential election of 2008.[4]
Personal life
In 2006, Otis Johnson was hospitalized after he had a heart attack while attending a black mayor's conference. While he was away from City Hall for weeks, he made a full recovery.[5]
Electoral history
Mayor of Savannah, 2003
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, November 4, 2003
Candidate Affiliation [6] Support Outcome Pete Liakakis Democratic 34% Runoff Otis Johnson Democratic 33% Runoff Frank Rossiter Democratic 17% Defeated Dicky Mopper Republican 16% Defeated Others n/a 1% Defeated Second Ballot, November 25, 2003
Candidate Affiliation Support Outcome Otis Johnson Democratic 51% Elected Pete Liakakis Democratic 49% Defeated Mayor of Savannah, 2007
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, November 6, 2007
Candidate Affiliation Support Outcome Otis Johnson Democratic 12,826 (70%) Elected Floyd Adams, Jr. Democratic 2,359 (13%) Defeated John McMasters Republican 2,205 (12%) Defeated Others n/a 1,023 (5%) Defeated Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Biography - Who is Dr. Otis S. Johnson?". http://otisformayor.com/biography.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
- ^ AASU Alumni Awards presented to Otis Johnson and Cliff McCurry, Armstrong Atlantic State University (AASU), April 27, 2005
- ^ Ratcliffe, Angel (September 12, 2007). "HUD Names Savannah a 'Preserve America' City". The Creative Coast. http://www.thecreativecoast.org/news/view/508.
- ^ "Savannah Mayor Endorses Barack Obama for President". Savannah Tribune. February 6–12, 2008.
- ^ "WSAV article". http://www.wsav.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSAV/MGArticle/SAV_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149188678461&path=!frontpage.
- ^ Officially, the City of Savannah election is a nonpartisan election, for which no party affiliation is required. Source: 2007 City of Savannah Municipal Election, City of Savannah
External links
- Mayor's official site
- otisjohnsonblog.com The Otis Johnson blog
- otisformayor.com Otis for Mayor campaign website
Political offices Preceded by
Floyd Adams, Jr. (Democrat)Mayor of Savannah
2004-currentSucceeded by
incumbentPreceded by
Leon Chaplin (Democrat)Council Member, District 2
1982-1988Succeeded by
Willie Brown (Democrat)City of Savannah "The Hostess City of the South" Category | Metropolitan area
Mayors of cities with populations exceeding 100,000 in Georgia 
Other states: AL • AK • AZ • AR • CA • CO • CT • DE • FL • GA • HI • ID • IL • IN • IA • KS • KY • LA • ME • MD • MA • MI • MN • MS • MO • MT • NE • NV • NH • NJ • NM • NY • NC • ND • OH • OK • OR • PA • RI • SC • SD • TN • TX • UT • VT • VA • WA • WV • WI • WY Categories:- Living people
- People from Savannah, Georgia
- Mayors of places in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Mayors of Savannah, Georgia
- African American mayors
- University of Georgia alumni
- Brandeis University alumni
- Clark Atlanta University alumni
- African American politicians
- Savannah State University faculty
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