Cavalier Johnson

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Cavalier Johnson
Mayor of Milwaukee
Acting
Assumed office
December 22, 2021
Preceded byTom Barrett
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic
Children3
EducationUniversity of Wisconsin, Madison (BA)

Cavalier Johnson is an American politician serving as the acting mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is the Milwaukee Common Council president and Milwaukee's 2nd District alderman.

Early life and education[]

Cavalier Johnson's father worked as a janitor for more than 30 years and his mother worked as a certified nursing assistant. He is one of ten siblings. He grew up in Milwaukee's 53206 zip code, known for having the highest incarceration rate of African-American males out of any ZIP code in the country.[1]

At 14 years old, he was selected by the YMCA to participate in a pre-college program, Sponsor-A-Scholar, for low-income students in Milwaukee Public Schools. Johnson credits this for his commitment to community service.[2]

In 2005, Johnson graduated from Bay View High School.[3] As a junior, he was a cameraman for the Youth in Government press corps.[4]

In 2009, Johnson graduated with a B.A. in political science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.[2]

Johnson has served on boards at the Milwaukee YMCA, ACLU of Wisconsin, and Milwaukee Community Brainstorming.[2]

Career[]

After college, Johnson worked with the Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board assisting at-risk youth, youth entering the workforce for the first time, and adults retooling to enter the workforce.[2] Johnson worked as a community outreach liaison for the government of Milwaukee where he interacted with community and faith leaders.[2]

Johnson ran for a seat on the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors in a five-way special election in 2011. He finished fifth with 171 votes.[5] In 2012, Johnson ran for a different seat on the County Board, finishing sixth out of seven candidates with 106 votes.[5]

In 2016, Johnson ran for 2nd District Alderman on the Milwaukee Common Council, winning a five-way primary with 38 percent of the vote and winning the general election with 4,307 votes (52 percent).[5] In 2018, Johnson was the lead sponsor to ban fee-based conversion therapy of minors in Milwaukee.[6]

Johnson was re-elected without opposition in 2020[5] and was also elected by his peers in a 8–7 vote to serve as the Milwaukee Common Council President.[1]

Johnson became acting mayor of Milwaukee upon the resignation of Tom Barrett to assume the ambassadorship of Luxembourg, on December 22, 2021.[7] He is acting mayor until the 2022 Milwaukee mayoral special election.[8] Johnson is a candidate in the special election.[9] The day before assuming the role, Johnson announced his top priority would be combating reckless driving to create safe streets.[10][3]

Personal life[]

Johnson lives in Milwaukee's Capitol Heights neighborhood. He is married and has three children.[5]

Electoral history[]

2022 Milwaukee mayoral special primary[11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Cavalier Johnson (incumbent) 25,779 41.79%
Nonpartisan Bob Donovan 13,742 22.28%
Nonpartisan Lena Taylor 7,877 12.77%
Nonpartisan Marina Dimitrijevic 7,521 12.19%
Nonpartisan Earnell Lucas 5,886 9.53%
Nonpartisan Michael Sampson 514 0.83%
Nonpartisan Ieshuh Griffin 315 0.51%
Write-in 56 0.09%
Total votes 61,743 100.00%

References[]

  1. ^ a b Torres, Alison Dirr and Ricardo. "A sharply divided Milwaukee Common Council votes Cavalier Johnson as president". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Meet the Alders". Milwaukee Magazine. 2016-04-21. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  3. ^ a b Jannene, Jeramey (December 22, 2021). "The Incredible Rise of Cavalier Johnson". Urban Milwaukee. Archived from the original on 2021-12-23. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  4. ^ Kampmeier, Susan (2003-12-08). "Students get inside look at politics". Stevens Point Journal. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  5. ^ a b c d e Jannene, Jeramey. "City Hall: The Rise of Cavalier Johnson". Urban Milwaukee. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
  6. ^ Spicuzza, Mary (March 27, 2018). "Therapy to change a child's sexual orientation will be banned in Milwaukee". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2018-11-14. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  7. ^ Atkins, Tony (2021-12-22). "Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett resigns, hands power to Acting Mayor Cavalier Johnson". TMJ4. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  8. ^ Dirr, Alison (December 22, 2021). "With Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's resignation Wednesday, Cavalier Johnson becomes acting mayor". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  9. ^ Dirr, Alison. "Milwaukee mayoral candidate and Common Council President Cavalier Johnson sees better relationship with state ahead". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  10. ^ Bachara, Gabriella (December 21, 2021). "Cavalier Johnson unveils plan to curb reckless driving in Milwaukee before taking on role of interim mayor". CBS58. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  11. ^ "Latest Election Results". city.milwaukee.gov. City of Milwaukee. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.

External links[]

Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Milwaukee
Acting
2021–present 		Incumbent
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