William A. Johnson, Jr.

William A. Johnson Jr. (born August 22, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 64th Mayor of the City of Rochester, New York. He was the first African-American mayor in the city's history.

Early life and education Johnson is a native of Lynchburg, Virginia. He earned a B.A. and M.A. in Political Science from Howard University in 1965 and 1967, respectively. He then moved to Flint, Michigan, where he worked at Mott Community College and the Flint Urban League.

Mayor of Rochester Johnson first entered politics when he ran for Mayor of Rochester in 1993 as a Democrat. In the Democratic primary, he defeated County Legislator Kevin Murray and former City Councilmember Ruth Scott. He received over 72 percent of the vote in the November general election to succeed 20-year incumbent Thomas Ryan. Johnson was the city's first African-American mayor. He became known for his willingness to take risks for city improvement. The ferry's terminal building in Charlotte, which still stands today, was named after Johnson in 2018. This was seen as an "insult" to his legacy by arch-conservative journalist Bob Lonsberry. Despite large amounts of public investment, the city also failed to attract new businesses during his tenure. In 2004, he was a finalist for the World Mayor Prize.

Johnson retired as mayor in 2005 and became a professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Other political ventures In 2003, Johnson ran unsuccessfully for Monroe County Executive on a platform of fiscal responsibility and regional cooperation and innovation. In 2011, after a tumultuous period in which the City of Rochester had three different mayors in three weeks after having only three mayors in the previous thirty-seven years, Johnson ran again for Mayor in a special election to serve the remainder of the term of Robert Duffy, who resigned. As the Independence Party of New York and Working Families Party candidate, Johnson lost to Democrat Tom Richards. Johnson garnered more votes than any previous candidate in New York State on the Working Family Party's ticket.