Andre Johnson Jr.

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]

Not to be confused with Andrew Johnson Jr..
Andre Johnson Jr.
Johnson in 2023
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates
from the 34A district
Assumed office
January 11, 2023
Preceded byMary 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
Edgewood, Maryland
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceEdgewood, Maryland
EducationEdgewood High School
WebsiteCampaign website
Military service
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1998–2015
RankStaff Sergeant

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 a member of the House Economic Matters Committee.[13]

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.[14]

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.[15] In July 2019, he attended a protest against the warehouse's construction.[16]

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.[17] In April 2022, Johnson voted for a bill that would place a building development moratorium on the Perryman Peninsula.[18]

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.[19] 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.[20]

Redistricting

In December 2021 Johnson voted against the Harford County Council's redistricting plan, which passed on a party-line vote of 6–1.[21] The redistricting map was vetoed by county executive Barry Glassman on December 28,[22] but the county council voted to override the veto on January 4, 2022, with Johnson again voting against the redistricting plan.[23]

Electoral history
Harford County Council District A Democratic primary election, 2018[24]
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[25]
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[26]
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[27]
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. "Andre V. Johnson, Jr., Maryland State Delegate". Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland State Archives. March 15, 2023. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  3. Anderson, David (June 8, 2018). "Four candidates vying for District A seat on Harford County Council". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  4. 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. Gaines, Danielle E. (January 5, 2023). "Jones announces new Democratic caucus, committee leaders for 2023 General Assembly session". Maryland Matters. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  14. 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.
  15. Anderson, David (April 11, 2019). "Harford County Council approves expanding Edgewood/Joppa Enterprise Zone". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  16. Anderson, David (July 9, 2019). "Community members protest against Abingdon Business Park warehouse development". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  17. Fontelieu, Jason (February 3, 2022). "Perryman residents urge County Council to pass warehouse moratorium". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  18. Fontelieu, Jason (April 19, 2022). "Harford County Council passes bill imposing moratorium on Perryman Peninsula development". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  19. 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.
  20. 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.
  21. 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.
  22. Fontelieu, Jason (December 28, 2021). "Harford County executive vetoes County Council's redistricting map". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  23. Fontelieu, Jason (January 4, 2022). "Harford County Council overrides county executive's veto of its redistricting map". The Aegis. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  24. "Official 2018 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for Harford County". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. July 31, 2018.
  25. "Official 2018 Gubernatorial General Election results for Harford County". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. December 11, 2018.
  26. "Official 2022 Gubernatorial Primary Election Results for House of Delegates". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. August 24, 2022.
  27. "Official 2022 Gubernatorial General Election Results for House of Delegates". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. December 7, 2022.
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