William A. Johnson, Jr.

For the organ builder, see William Allen Johnson.

William A. Johnson, Jr.
64th Mayor of Rochester
In office January 1, 1994 – December 31, 2005
Preceded by	Thomas Ryan
Succeeded by	Robert Duffy
Personal details
Born	(1942-08-22) August 22, 1942 Lynchburg, Virginia
Political party	Democratic Party
Alma mater	Howard University

William A. "Bill" Johnson, Jr. was the first African-American elected mayor of the City of Rochester, New York. Elected in November 1993, Johnson was the 64th mayor of the city and was re-elected in 1997 and 2001. Although he received 78% of the votes in 2001, he announced that he would not seek a fourth term, and was succeeded in 2006 by former Rochester Police Chief Robert Duffy.

Career

Born in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1942, Johnson was educated at Howard University where he received both his bachelor's, master's and three honorary degrees. He was the deputy executive director of the Flint, Michigan Urban League and director of the National Urban League Voter Registration Project. He also taught political science at Mott Community College.

He moved to Rochester in 1972 and served 21 years as president and chief executive officer of the Urban League of Rochester. He later became a trustee of the United States Conference of Mayors and served as chairman of the Smart Growth and Regionalism Task Force. In 2006 he became a Minett Professor of public policy in Rochester Institute of Technology' College of Liberal Arts.

2003 County Executive Election

In 2003 Johnson ran unsuccessfully for Monroe County Executive. Johnson was defeated in a landslide by former television newswoman, County Legislator and County Clerk Maggie Brooks. He won only the city of Rochester, and the heavily Democratic town of Brighton by 200 votes. Johnson's advocacy of metropolitan government in the County proved to be unpopular in the suburbs, leading to Johnson's defeat by a 2 to 1 margin. The debate over whether to consolidate local government functions for the purposes of efficiency and tax savings, which Johnson made one of the cornerstones of his regional public policy initiatives, continues today.

2011 Special Election Bid for Return as Mayor

In January 2011 Johnson announced that he would be running once again for the office of Mayor to serve the rest of former mayor Robert Duffy's 2nd term. While remaining a registered Democrat, he accepted the ballot lines of the Independence and Working Families' Parties to run in the special election on March 29 against Tom Richards, the former deputy mayor and city corporation counsel who was officially nominated on February 5 by the Democratic committee of Rochester to be his party's candidate. Richards defeated Johnson and Green Party candidate Alex White in the special election.

Legacy

Johnson's tenure as Mayor included few successes. The failure of two large scale projects, the attempted revitalization of the High Falls district into an entertainment center, and the attempt to bring a high speed ferry service linking Rochester and Toronto are his remaining legacies.

Sources

• Biography from CityMayors, April 2005
• Biography from Hobart and William Smith Colleges, January 2005

Political offices
Preceded by Thomas Ryan	Mayor of Rochester, NY 1994 – 2005	Succeeded by Robert Duffy