FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Lisa Tucker February 17, 2022 (925) 934-0550
Richmond City Council Member Demnlus Johnson Launches Campaign for Congress
Johnson is running in newly created CA-08
RICHMOND – Today, Demnlus Johnson, Council member in Richmond, CA announced via video that he is running for Congress in the new CA-08 district.
“I’m running for Congress because I love my community and I believe a better world is possible,” said Johnson. “I am the fourth generation to live and work in this community and I understand the struggles and hopes of the people who live here.” Johnson continued, “I live our story and will fight the status quo in Congress to build a better community for us all.”
Johnson grew up in The Iron Triangle in Richmond before moving to Pittsburg in middle school. He is the fourth generation of his family to live and work in Richmond. His great grandparents worked in the Mare Island and Kaiser shipyards and his grandfather helped lay the asphalt of Highway 4. One of his grandmothers worked in the cannery and the other built buses on the assembly line. And, his grandfather owned the legendary Savoy Nightclub.
After graduating from Howard University, Johnson came back to Richmond to help build a better Richmond for his generation. He worked at Richmond High School as a community organizer to remove barriers to academic success for students and became a shop steward for Teamsters Local 856.
Johnson got active in Richmond, looking to help the community thrive. He was appointed to the Richmond Economic Development Commission and the Community Police Review Commission.
In 2018 Johnson was elected to the Richmond City Council where he has focused on building affordable and workforce housing, creating new economic opportunity and expanding socio-economic equity. In 2020 he earned his graduate degree from UC Berkeley. Today, he works at Jumpstart for Young Children, a non-profit that works to expand early childhood education and readiness for kindergarten.
Civil rights activists fought for the creation of this Bay Area Congressional District to expand representation of Black and Latino Member of Congress. District 8 is a majority of Black, Latino and Asian residents.
“Washington is bogged down in years-old fights and unable to advance real solutions that help people like us,” said Johnson. “I’m ready to solve problems and fight for the people of the East and North Bay.”
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