for South Carolina Secretary of State
A NATIVE WASHINGTONIAN, MS. JOHNSON IS A GRADUATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, WITH A B.A. IN ENGLISH AND JOURNALISM. SHE COMPLETED MASTERS STUDIES IN GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT AT UNIVERSITY COLLEGE. SHE DEVOTED 28 YEARS TO PUBLIC SERVICE AT THE WASHINGTON SUBURBAN SANITARY COMMISSION. SHE SERVED AS DIRECTORS OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, MINORITY AFFAIRS, AND COMMUNICATIONS. SHE RETIRED FROM HER EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT POSITION AS AGENCY SPOKESPERSON IN MAY, 2001. MS. JOHNSON IS WIDOWED, THE MOTHER OF TWO (ONE SON AND ONE DAUGHTER) AND NOW LIVES IN COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA.
SHE HAS BEEN PRINCE GEORGE’S (MD) RESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN FOR UNITED WAY AND A TRUSTEE; A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC RELATIONS SOCIETY OF AMERICA; AND HAS BEEN CHAIRMAN OF PUBLICATIONS FOR THE AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION AND EDITOR OF THE ASSOCIATION’S NEWSLETTER. SHE WAS VOTED CHAIRMAN OF YOUTH AND EDUCATION - MD/DC UTILITIES ASSOCIATION AND SERVED AS ASSOCIATION SECRETARY; SERVED THREE TERMS AS CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD - AMERICAN RED CROSS ; SERVED SEVERAL YEARS ON THE REGIONAL CONSORTIUM OF RED CROSS CHAPTERS; AND SERVED FOUR TERMS AS BOARD OF ELECTIONS VOTER JUDGE. SHE SERVED AS A MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL ADVISORY GROUP TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA) ON WATER QUALITY STANDARDS. MS. JOHNSON WAS AWARDED THE MARYLAND GOVERNOR’S CITATION FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE AND WAS PUBLISHED IN “WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT IN PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY HISTORY.”
SINCE HER RETIREMENT AND MOVE FROM MARYLAND TO SOUTH CAROLINA IN 2002, SHE HAS SERVED AS PRESIDENT OF THE RICHLAND DEMOCRATIC WOMEN; MEMBER OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA DEMOCRATIC WOMEN’S COUNCIL; IS STATE SECRETARY AND RICHLAND COUNTY REPRESENTATIVE ON THE SOUTH CAROLINA SILVER HAIRED LEGISLATURE; DEMOCRATIC HEADQUARTERS VOLUNTEER; IS WILDEWOOD DEMOCRATIC PRECINCT CHAIRMAN; AND HAS SERVED FIVE YEARS AS BOARD OF ELECTIONS POLL MANAGER - RICHLAND COUNTY.
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Woman running for S.C. secretary of state
Richland County resident Marjorie Johnson is seeking the Democratic nomination for secretary of state. Johnson, according to her Web site, is a retired public relations executive.
A native Washingtonian, Johnson is president of the Richland Democratic Women and a member of the S.C. Democratic Women's Council.
She said she is running "to eliminate at least one of South Carolina's negative numbers, that of (its) number fifty (ranking) in women elected to statewide office."
So far, Johnson is the only Democrat to file documents with the State Ethics Commission to begin raising money to run for secretary of state.
Republican Secretary of State Mark Hammond is the only other candidate raising money to make a run for the office in 2010.
Hammond, 45, was first elected in 2002. Voters will go to the polls in June to choose Democratic and Republican nominees for secretary of state. The general election is in November 2010.
Johnson, who describes herself as "on the sunnyside of 70," according to her campaign materials, holds a bachelor's degree in English and journalism from the University of Maryland. She also holds a masters in general administrative management from the University of Maryland's University College.
Johnson ran for the Maryland state House in 1998 but withdrew from the race before the election. She moved to South Carolina in 2002 and immediately got involved in politics.
Johnson said her run is motivated by education, health care and economic rankings that typically have South Carolina near the bottom among states.
A statistic that could be changed if she is elected is the one showing that no woman holds a statewide elected office in South Carolina.
"(The lack of women elected officials) is simply not of this century," Johnson said.
- Leroy Chapman Jr.