Otis Johnson

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.

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.

Personal life In 2006, Otis Johnson was hospitalized after he had a heart attack while attending a conference for black mayors. While he was away from City Hall for weeks, he made a full recovery.

Electoral history Mayor of Savannah, 2003

Threshold > 50%

First Ballot, November 4, 2003

Candidate Affiliation 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