Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson found himself in Washington, D.C. yet again as he was invited by President Joe Biden to attend the official state dinner honoring Kenyan President William Ruto on May 23.
Kenya is a strategic ally of the United States and is one of the few true democracies on the continent of Africa. President Biden has named the country as a “major non-NATO ally.”
At the reception prior to the dinner, Johnson hobnobbed with celebrities, former presidents, ambassadors and Washington elites and said he was a bit star-struck.
“As a little boy from Augusta, I never thought I would be standing next to people like Melinda Gates and Bill and Hillary Clinton, waiting in line together to have dinner in the White House,” Johnson said.
Film and television actor LeVar Burton was also on hand, and Johnson said he had a nice conversation with the Roots and Star Trek actor.
“He kinda put me at ease because he was a bit star-struck as well,” Johnson said.
Guests dined on heirloom tomato soup, fruitwood smoked short ribs and butter poached lobster with kale and corn puree, as well as sumptuous desserts of banana, peach, candied lime and raspberry ganache.
Country music star Brad Paisley performed for the event.
This is Johnson’s third trip to Washington as mayor; last year he was invited to the White House Christmas Party and later the State of the Union address.
During these occasions, Johnson has managed to foster relationships with some powerful people, including First Lady Jill Biden, who has visited Augusta twice promoting the administration’s Workforce Hubs Initiative, and giving the Garden City national media attention for something other than golf.
Johnson says those relationships are important as he seeks to grow the city of Augusta’s national profile.
“I don’t go to these things to promote myself. Being mayor of Augusta is the end of the line for me politically. I go to promote our city and try to build partnerships,” Johnson said.
Johnson also explained that he remains non-partisan, and his visits to Washington do not mean that he officially leans one way or the other towards a political party.
“I got criticized from some on the right for going to the State of the Union at all and then criticized by the left for not clapping as much as they thought I should. But, the bottom line is that if the president of the United States invites you to events, it doesn’t matter who the president is, if you want to promote your city, you go,” Johnson said.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
