Brighton-Area Man Running for 42nd State House Seat

A teacher with nearly 20 years of experience in special education has announced that he will run for the Democratic nomination for the 42nd House seat in Livingston County.

Timothy Johnson said Friday he is planning to file his papers for the Democratic nomination with the Livingston County Clerk's office soon.

"The quality of life is no longer improving for 99 percent of the people in Michigan. A few powerful special interests are dictating state policy and private morality for the majority. I want to reverse those trends by speaking up for the rest of us," he said.

Johnson said he would use his skills as a teacher to develop a community that wants to work together for the common good rather than be divided by partisan differences.

"I have met many great folks here in Livingston County.  Most of them I would be proud to call my neighbor. However, there are many I have not met. While there is much that we share, I fear there are too many issues on which some of us disagree and we have allowed these to fester to the point we are no longer able to communicate.  I would like to see us all come together as a community and strengthen our common bonds rather than accentuating our differences," he said.

The most critical issues facing the area, Johnson said, are more funding for public schools; increasing spending for Michigan infrastructure, including roads and bridges, and protecting the environment, especially greater regulation of fracking.

"The policies of Lansing Republicans are stealing our children's education at the K-12 level and placing the cost of higher education out of the reach of many of them," he said.           

Education policies dictated from Lansing are erasing local control and promoting a style of teaching that replaces the development of critical thinking skills with memorizing facts, Johnson said.

Johnson teaches at the Detroit Behavior Institute/Capstone Academy, which is a 98-bed residential facility that treats children with mental health and related disorders. Some have been ordered to undergo psychiatric treatment by the juvenile courts while others have been referred by the state's child welfare system.

He previously taught at Hawthorn Psychiatric Center for four years, where he was union representative for UAW Local 600 for two years.

Johnson grew up in Taylor, Mich., graduated from local public schools, and worked in a local steel mill and owned an automotive body repair business from 1982 to 1986. He obtained a bachelor of science degree in education and writing from Eastern Michigan University in 1995.

His wife Mary Melissa graduated from Brighton High School. They have been married 12 years, have three children, and have lived in Genoa Township for two years. He has been a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association since 1990 and is a former competitive shooter with the Police Pistol Combat League.

Anyone wishing more information about Johnson's campaign may contact him at TBJ4MIhouse@gmail.com or follow his campaign on Facebook at Timothy Johnson 4 Michigan House (https://www.facebook.com/TBJ4MIHOUSE).

Johnson is the only Democrat to announce for the 42nd House District, which  includes the city of Brighton and the townships of Brighton, Genoa, Green Oak, Hamburg, and Putnam.

(Paid for by the Committee to Elect Timothy Johnson, 6496 Lake Breeze Dr., Brighton, MI 48114. Printed in-house, labor donated.)