Supporters cheered on four more years at Augusta Commissioner Jordan Johnson’s oath of office ceremony.
Johnson’s mother, his fourth-grade teacher, a spoken word artist and others celebrated his advance to a second term Friday at May Park. Johnson won a four-way race to represent District 1 with 55.58% of votes in June.
“I can think of no one who is more dedicated to District 1 in Augusta than Jordan Johnson,” Sen. Harold Jones said. The district’s commissioner must be a “warrior,” willing to fight for what is fair and right and do what needs to be done, Jones said.
“He’s the kind of leader that only comes around once in a generation,” said state Rep. L.C. Myles Jr. “He’s the ‘do something about this.’”
The event was punctuated, and Johnson said he was surprised, by his presentation by Sharon Brown of a medal for service from President Biden.
Johnson serves as chairman of the Richmond County Democratic Party and as executive director of the voting rights group Georgia Shift.
As he took the oath, Johnson’s mother held the Bible and a stack of photos of earlier-generation Black Augusta political leaders Johnson said were his inspiration.
“The Augusta that we know today is because of the hard work and the blood and sweat and tears of Lee Beard and Margaret Armstrong and C.S. Hamilton and the folks in this picture,” Johnson said. “It’s because of the people like Willie Mays who decided to stand up and speak truth to power, even if it wasn’t popular.”
“Over the next four years, please join me and my colleagues in reimagining this community,” Johnson said. “The next four years will be about the future of Augusta and what we want out of our city. It’s about how we approach inclusivity, about how we approach equity, about how we approach cleaning up our neighborhoods and paving potholes and knocking down dilapidated houses, and not just on one side of town, but all over Augusta-Richmond County.”
Johnson said it was critical the local government adequately support law enforcement, Recreation and Parks “gets the facelift it needs,” and that residents own their city and its future.
“It’s about turning our community over to the people who live here, who work here, who believe in the vision of Augusta-Richmond County and we need everyone to join in this battle.”
