June 26, 2008
Freshman State Senator Craig Johnson Hits His Stride On Education Reform
After only one year in Albany, New York State Senator Craig Johnson has made a splash in the education reform movement.
Sen. Johnson made history in 2007 as the first Democrat elected to represent New York's 7th District in over 100 years. Backed by the support of a constituency crying out for change, Johnson vigorously fought for education funding for the 16 schools in his district.
In 2007, despite his relatively short time in the Senate, Sen. Johnson broke ranks with his party and secured $25 million for the 7th district – a 19.27 percent increase from the previous year. This was a record amount of school budget funding for the district and the largest increase that year of any senate district on Long Island.
However, Sen. Johnson knew that no amount of money could fix a broken system and defied the status quo by joining New York’s charter school movement. Johnson immediately became an outspoken supporter of the legislation to lift the cap on charter schools from 100 to 200. His timely election helped fuel the momentum of the successful legislation.
Sen. Johnson’s passion and skilled political maneuvering are a product of a political background and a lifetime as a New York citizen and politician. He was born and raised in Port Washington, Long Island, where he still lives with his family. His mother, Barbara Johnson, was also a local politician. Sen. Johnson replaced her on the Nassau County Legislature in a special election after she passed away in 2000. He served for four terms on the Legislature, where he was given the reigns of a $2.2 billion budget and helped save the county from bankruptcy as the youngest-ever chairman of the Finance Committee. In the Senate, Johnson serves as the Minority Member of the Senate Local Government Committee.
With a whole career ahead of him, Sen. Johnson will undoubtedly continue to be an unabashed champion of education reform.
