Bruce Johnson (Ohio Politician) - Background

Background

Johnson graduated from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, with a bachelor of arts degree in economics before attending law school at Capital University in Columbus, where he received his Juris Doctor degree in 1985. While at Bowling Green he became a member of Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity. He was admitted to the Ohio bar on November 4, 1985. After a year as an assistant city prosecutor in Columbus, he joined the firm of Chester, Willcox, and Saxbe in Columbus, working there from until 2001. In 1991, Johnson was the campaign manager for Greg Lashutka's successful mayoral run in Columbus and became his chief of staff when Lashutka was sworn in. Johnson served in City Hall from 1992 to 1994, where he was responsible for supervising ten department directors. He helped abolish the city's Human Services Department and reorganize the city's operations. Upon his resignation to enter the Ohio Senate, The Columbus Dispatch said Johnson:

has largely tailored the job to carrying out the mayor's policies and making sure city government is streamlined. In the past two years, he has wrestled with budgets, labor contracts, money for the Scioto floodwall and the transfer of the trash-burning power plant to the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio. —The Columbus Dispatch

He is presently a resident of the Columbus suburb of Westerville. He and his wife, Kelley, have four children: Shane (born circa 1988), Meagan (born circa 1989), Connor (born circa 1993), and Morgan Christine (born 1995).