Richard Johnson is an American politician and city manager who served as
Mayor of
Taunton, Massachusetts and
City Manager
A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief execu ...
of
Lowell, Massachusetts.
Early career
Prior to running for office, Johnson served as an administrative assistant to Taunton Mayor
Theodore J. Aleixo, Jr.
Theodore J. Aleixo Jr. (born August 23, 1942) is an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. He served in both houses of the Massachusetts General Court and as the Mayor of Taunton, Massachusetts.
Aleixo was elected to the Massachusett ...
and as Director of the Taunton Housing Authority.
Mayor of Taunton
In 1981, incumbent Mayor Joseph Amaral chose not to seek re-election and Johnson ran to succeed him. He finished first in the preliminary election with 4289 votes, defeating Amaral's administrative assistant Walter Precourt Jr. (2776 votes), City Councilman Tijuana Goldstein-Star (2729 votes), recent
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
graduate David Goren (262 votes), and rock musician Russell N. Hurst (76 votes). He defeated Precourt in the general election 7266 votes to 6030.
During Johnson's first term, the city suffered economic misfortune as
Parker Brothers and
Paragon Gear shut down their Taunton plants.
Although the city suffered through an economic slump and high unemployment during Johnson's early years as mayor, by 1987 unemployment in Taunton was at the lowest point on record.
In 1986,
GTE chose Taunton as the location for its new plant.
In 1989,
The Pyramid Companies
Pyramid Management Group (also known as The Pyramid Companies) is a development firm formed in 1968 in Upstate New York, by Robert J. Congel. It is the largest privately held shopping mall development firm in the Northeastern United States, with ...
announced plans to build a mall in Taunton, which would become the
Silver City Galleria
The Silver City Galleria was an enclosed, two-level, super-regional mall located off Route 24 and Route 140 in Taunton, Massachusetts, United States. It covered a leasable area of over , and served multiple cities and towns in the region. It wa ...
.
In 1990, Johnson prevented hip hop group
2 Live Crew
2 Live Crew is an American hip hop music, hip hop group from Miami, Florida, which had its greatest commercial success from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The group's most well-known line up was composed of Luther Campbell, Luke Campbell, Fr ...
from performing in Taunton, stating that he wanted to protect his community from the potential for violence and from the band's "outward display of immorality".
In 1991, Johnson was defeated in his bid for a sixth term, losing to Robert Nunes 6922 votes to 6741.
City Manager of Lowell
Shortly after his defeat, Johnson was chosen by the Lowell City Council to serve as City Manager. In 1992, Lowell lost control of its budget to the state finance commission due to its unstable financial condition. It regained control in 1995. That same year, the City Council approved bond sales for the
Tsongas Center and
Edward A. LeLacheur Park
Edward A. LeLacheur Park is a baseball park located on the banks of the Merrimack River in Lowell, Massachusetts. It is home to the UMass Lowell River Hawks baseball team, which competes in the America East Conference at the NCAA Division I leve ...
.
Post-government career
After leaving government, Johnson served as vice president of
Veolia Water North America.
See also
*
Timeline of Lowell, Massachusetts
The following is a timeline of the history of Lowell, Massachusetts, US.
19th century
* 1822
**Merrimack Manufacturing Company incorporated.
**Hugh Cummiskley leads 30 Irishmen up the Middlesex Canal starting in Charlestown, Mass to Pawtucket ...
, 1990s
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Richard
City managers of Lowell, Massachusetts
Mayors of Taunton, Massachusetts
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people