Dan Johnston

Dan L. Johnston (April 6, 1938 – October 21, 2016) was an American lawyer and politician. He was from Des Moines, Iowa. A member of the Iowa Democratic Party, he served in the Iowa House of Representatives and as the Polk County attorney.

Early life Born in Montezuma, Iowa, Johnston attended the public schools in Marshalltown and Toledo before earning a bachelor's degree from Westmar College, attending Iowa State University and earning a law degree from Drake University Law School. In 1975, he began working for the National Center for State Courts.

He was elected Polk County attorney in 1976, serving from 1977 to 1985, when he decided to resign and move to New York City. In New York, he served as director of Gay Men's Health Crisis from 1987 to 1990 and on the New York police civilian complaint review board from 1986 to 1990. He then lived in Washington, D.C., and worked as general counsel for the criminal justice subcommittee of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.

Personal life Johnston was gay; his partner for more than 35 years was Norman Jesse, who also served in the Iowa House. Neither Johnston nor Jesse was publicly out as gay during their careers in politics. They maintained separate residences across the street from each other and rarely spent the night together in the same bed.

Johnston died of cancer on October 21, 2016, in a hospice in Des Moines, Iowa.