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Kenyatta Johnson

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Kenyatta Johnson
President of the Philadelphia City Council
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 2, 2024 (2024-01-02)
Preceded byDarrell L. Clarke
Member of the Philadelphia City Council from the 2nd District
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 2, 2012 (2012-01-02)
Preceded byAnna Verna
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
from the 186th district
In office
January 6, 2009 (2009-01-06)[1] – January 2, 2012 (2012-01-02)
Preceded byHarold James
Succeeded byHarold James
Personal details
Born (1973-10-30) October 30, 1973 (age 51)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseDawn Chavous (m. 2012)
Alma materMansfield University of Pennsylvania (BA)
University of Pennsylvania (MGA)
WebsiteOfficial website

Kenyatta J. Johnson (born October 30, 1973)[2] is an American politician who has served as president of the Philadelphia City Council since 2024. A member of the Democratic Party, he has represented the second district on the Council since 2012. His district includes parts of Center City, South, and Southwest Philadelphia.[3]

Johnson previously served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing the 186th district from 2009 to 2012.[4]

Early life and education

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Johnson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 30, 1973 to Gregory White and Yvonne Martin.[5] He attended Edward Bok High School, graduating in 1991. He continued his education at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice in 1996 and at the Fels Institute of Government, University of Pennsylvania, with a Master of Government Administration in 2001.[6][7]

Politics

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Johnson founded Peace Not Guns after the murder of his cousin.[8][9] He has worked since 1998 to end gun violence through education and programs created to give children an alternative to the streets. His activism led to a successful run for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He served as State Representative for the 186th Legislative District from 2009 until 2012 when he took the oath of office for City Council. He was a senate staffer for six years for State Senator Anthony H. Williams before running for the House of Representatives.[3][6]

Johnson is a former volunteer for AmeriCorps which is the national service organization that allows citizens to serve their communities. He was also a founding staff member of City Year, the non-profit AmeriCorps organization whose primary goal is to build advocacy through service.

Johnson's 2015 re-election campaign was "the most drawn-out and negative race" primary election of that election year. He defeated real estate developer Ori Feibush.[10]

Johnson was elected president of the Philadelphia City Council on January 2, 2024, following the retirement of Darrell L. Clarke, who served as president since 2012.[5]

Federal indictment

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In an interview on January 28, 2020, with The Philadelphia Inquirer,[11] Johnson announced that he and his wife, political consultant Dawn Chavous, expected federal prosecutors to announce the charges against them. Johnson and his lawyer said they believe the grand jury indictment would focus on the relationships among the councilman’s City Hall office, Chavous's consulting firm, and Universal Companies, a South Philadelphia community development nonprofit and charter-school operator founded by the music producer Kenny Gamble.

On January 29, 2020, federal prosecutors brought a 22-count indictment against Johnson and charged him and associates, to include his wife, and two nonprofit executives, with racketeering, wire fraud, tax fraud, and other crimes.[12] The indictment accused Johnson of allegedly abusing his “councilmanic prerogative” to influence zoning decisions in his district for his own profit.[13] The case was declared a mistrial in April 2022 after the jury deadlocked; the government retried the case and Johnson was acquitted.[14]

Personal life

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Johnson married political consultant Dawn Chavous in 2012. Chavous worked as chief of staff for State Senator Anthony H. Williams and as campaign manager for his 2010 gubernatorial run.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "SESSION OF 2009 - 193D OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY - No. 1" (PDF). Legislative Journal. Pennsylvania House of Representatives. January 6, 2009.
  2. ^ "Kenyatta Johnson". Committee of Seventy. Archived from the original on October 13, 2011. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "COUNCIL PRESIDENT KENYATTA JOHNSON". Philadelphia City Council. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  4. ^ Cox, Harold (February 26, 2010). "House Members J". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
  5. ^ a b Walsh, Sean Collins; Orso, Anna (January 2, 2024). "Kenyatta Johnson elected Philadelphia City Council president". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Kenyatta J. Johnson". PA House Archives. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Clifford, Patricia (January 30, 2012). "The Wedding of Dawn Chavous and Kenyatta Johnson". The Philadelphia Tribune. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  8. ^ "About Peace not Guns". November 14, 2009. Archived from the original on November 26, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  9. ^ Johnson, Kenyatta (July 25, 2014). "Johnson defends Peace, Not Guns". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  10. ^ Fiorillo, Victor (May 19, 2015). "Kenyatta Johnson Defeats Ori Feibush, Ending Long, Ugly Battle". Philadelphia Magazine. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  11. ^ Brennan, Chris; Roebuck, Jeremy (January 28, 2020). "Philly Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson braces for indictment". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  12. ^ Philadelphia City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson and His Wife Indicted in Wide-Ranging Fraud and Bribery Case Also Involving Former Universal Companies Executives, United States Attorney's Office, January 29, 2020
  13. ^ Roebuck, Jeremy; Brennan, Chris (January 29, 2020). "Philadelphia City Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson, wife indicted on federal corruption charges". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
  14. ^ "Judge declares a mistrial in Philadelphia Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson trial". WHYY. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
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