Kenyatta Johnson

Kenyatta Johnson is a Democratic member of the Philadelphia City Council. He formerly served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 186th District.[2] He represents the 2nd District, which covers parts of Center City, South and Southwest Philadelphia, as well as the stadium area, Philadelphia International Airport, the Navy Yard and the Eastwick, Grays Ferry, Hawthorne and Point Breeze neighborhoods.[3] Councilman Johnson was re-elected in the May 2015 primary election to represent the 2nd District for a second term.[4]

Kenyatta Johnson
Member of the Philadelphia City Council from the 2nd District
Assumed office
January 2, 2012 (2012-01-02)
Preceded byAnna Verna
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
from the 186th district
In office
January 6, 2009 (2009-01-06)[1] – January 2, 2012 (2012-01-02)
Preceded byHarold James
Succeeded byHarold James
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic
WebsiteOfficial website

Politics

Johnson founded Peace Not Guns after the murder of his cousin.[5][6] He has worked since 1998 to end gun violence through education and programs created to give children an alternative to the streets. His activism led to a successful run for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He served as State Representative for the 186th Legislative District from 2009 until 2012 when he took the oath of office for City Council. He was a senate staffer for six years before running for the House of Representatives.[3]

Johnson is a former volunteer for AmeriCorps which is the national service organization that allows citizens to serve their communities. He was also a founding staff member of City Year, the non-profit AmeriCorps organization whose primary goal is to build advocacy through service.

Johnson's 2015 re-election campaign was "the most drawn-out and negative race" primary election of that election year. He defeated real estate developer Ori Feibush.[7]

Federal indictment

In an interview on January 28, 2020, with The Philadelphia Inquirer,[8] Johnson announced that he and his wife, political consultant Dawn Chavous, expected federal prosecutors to announce the charges against them. Johnson and his lawyer said they believe the grand jury indictment would focus on the relationships among the councilman’s City Hall office, Chavous's consulting firm, and Universal Companies, a South Philadelphia community development nonprofit and charter-school operator founded by the music producer Kenny Gamble.

On January 29, 2020, federal prosecutors brought a 22-count indictment against Johnson and charged him and associates with racketeering, wire fraud, tax fraud, and other crimes.[9] The indictment accuses Johnson of allegedly abusing his “councilmanic prerogative” to influence zoning decisions in his district for his own profit.[10] The case was declared a mistrial in April 2022 after the jury deadlocked; the government retried the case and Johnson was acquitted.[11]

See also

References
  1. "SESSION OF 2009 - 193D OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY - No. 1" (PDF). Legislative Journal. Pennsylvania House of Representatives. January 6, 2009.
  2. Cox, Harold (February 26, 2010). "House Members J". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
  3. "Councilman Kenyatta Johnson District 2". Philadelphia City Council. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  4. Dean, Mensah (May 21, 2015). "Incumbents survive in two contested district council races". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philly.com. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  5. "About Peace not Guns". November 14, 2009. Archived from the original on November 26, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  6. Johnson, Kenyatta (July 25, 2014). "Johnson defends Peace, Not Guns". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  7. Fiorillo, Victor (May 19, 2015). "Kenyatta Johnson Defeats Ori Feibush, Ending Long, Ugly Battle". Philadelphia Magazine. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  8. Brennan, Chris; Roebuck, Jeremy (January 28, 2020). "Philly Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson braces for indictment". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  9. Philadelphia City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson and His Wife Indicted in Wide-Ranging Fraud and Bribery Case Also Involving Former Universal Companies Executives, United States Attorney's Office, January 29, 2020
  10. Roebuck, Jeremy; Brennan, Chris (January 29, 2020). "Philadelphia City Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson, wife indicted on federal corruption charges". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
  11. "Judge declares a mistrial in Philadelphia Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson trial". WHYY. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
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