La Tonya Johnson (born June 22, 1972) is an American activist and politician from

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. She serves in the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

, representing the seat formerly held by Nikiya Harris Dodd, having easily defeated her opponents in the Fall 2016

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

, and being unopposed in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

Background

Johnson was born June 22, 1972 in

La Grange, Tennessee La Grange is a town in Fayette County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 133 at the 2010 census. A large area in the town is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as La Grange Historic District. Geography La Grange is l ...

. She earned a B.S. degree in

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

from

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tenness ...

, and has lived in Milwaukee for twenty-eight years. She owned and operated Anointed Child Care Service, an in-home daycare service, and served as president of Local 502 of

AFSCME The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is the largest trade union of public employees in the United States. It represents 1.3 million public sector employees and retirees, including health care workers, correcti ...

, the union which represents in-home daycare providers in

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and th ...

. She has one daughter, Sydney.

Nomination and election

Assembly

When Barbara Toles resigned from her Assembly District 17 seat, Johnson was one of four candidates who vied for the Democratic nomination in this recently redistricted

inner city The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...

district. She achieved an easy plurality, with 43% of the vote, in a field which included a former

Milwaukee Area Technical College Milwaukee Area Technical College (or MATC) is a public two-year vocational-technical college based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. MATC offers day, evening, and weekend classes at campuses in downtown Milwaukee, Oak Creek, West Allis, and Mequon. ...

Board member with

UAW The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) ...

ties, and an aide to State Representative Elizabeth Coggs. In the general election, she drew 20,262 votes, to 3564 for her sole opponent,

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becaus ...

Anthony Edwards.

Senate

In November 2016, Johnson was elected to the

. She had easily defeated two opponents (local government lobbyist Thomas Harris and Milwaukee School Board member Michael Bonds) in the August Democratic primary, and was unopposed in the general election. In 2020, she defeated primary challenger Michelle Bryant, the chief of staff for State Senator Lena Taylor. In the general election, she defeated Alciro Deacon in a landslide.

References

External links

Profile
at the

Wisconsin Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

Campaign websiteCampaign website on FacebookInterview with Johnson on ''WisconsinEYE''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, La Tonya 1972 births African-American state legislators in Wisconsin African-American women in politics American trade union leaders Living people Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly People from La Grange, Tennessee Politicians from Milwaukee Tennessee State University alumni Women state legislators in Wisconsin 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees people 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women