{{short description|American politician (born 1968)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}} {{infobox officeholder | name = Van Johnson | image = National League of Cities Conference Van Johnson.jpg | caption = Johnson in 2025 | office = 67th Mayor of Savannah | term_start = January 1, 2020 | term_end = | predecessor = Eddie DeLoach | successor = | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1968}} | birth_place = New York City, New York, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | party = Democratic | education = Savannah State University (BS)<br>Georgia Southern University (MPA) | website = {{URL|https://www.savannahga.gov/388/Office-of-the-Mayor|Office website}}<br/>{{URL|https://www.wearesavannahstrong.com/|Campaign website}} }}
'''Van R. Johnson II''' (born 1968) is an American politician who has served as the mayor of Savannah, Georgia since 2020. He is the fourth African-American mayor in the city's history. Before becoming Mayor, he served four terms as Alderman for the Savannah City Council's 1st District.
==Early life and education== Johnson was born and raised in Brownsville and Crown Heights, in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. He is the oldest child of the late Van R. Johnson, an Army veteran, law enforcement officer and general construction contractor, and Cynthia E. Johnson, a licensed certified social worker and licensed practical nurse.
Johnson attended New York City Public Schools and graduated from Erasmus Hall High School at age 16 and enrolled in Savannah State University, the oldest public historically Black college and university in the state of Georgia.<ref name="gov">{{Cite web |date=July 6, 2022 |title=Office of the Mayor |url=https://www.savannahga.gov/388/Office-of-the-Mayor |access-date=July 6, 2022 |website=Savannah.gov}}</ref> He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1990 and a master's degree in public administration from Georgia Southern University.<ref name="ssu">{{Cite news |last=Birzer |first=Danielle |date=February 4, 2020 |title=Van Johnson, SSU alum, takes mayoral seat |work=The Tiger's Roar |url=http://www.tigersroar.com/news/article_ad8e7db0-469f-11ea-a830-c7e6dab756a3.html |access-date=July 6, 2022}}</ref><ref name="candidates">{{Cite news |date=November 2, 2011 |title=Savannah City Council District 1 candidates |work=Savannah Morning News |url=https://www.savannahnow.com/story/news/2011/11/02/savannah-city-council-district-1-candidates/13416363007/ |access-date=July 6, 2022}}</ref>
Johnson is a life member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, having been initiated into its Beta Phi Lambda chapter in 1991.
==Career== After college, Johnson worked as a Chatham County Police Officer, Chatham County Sheriff's Reserve Deputy and, later, assistant director of human resources for Savannah's Chatham County.<ref name="gov" />
As a political newcomer, Johnson defeated Alderman David Jones, a 12-year incumbent for Savannah's 1st District seat.
From 2004 to 2019, Johnson served as Alderman for the Savannah City Council's 1st District, additionally serving as Mayor Pro Tem and Vice Chair during his tenure.<ref name="tribune">{{Cite news |date=October 30, 2019 |title=We Stand With Van Johnson |url=https://www.savannahtribune.com/articles/we-stand-with-van-johnson/ |access-date=July 6, 2022 |work=Savannah Tribune}}</ref> He unseated incumbent Eddie DeLoach in the 2019 Savannah mayoral election and was sworn in as Mayor on January 1, 2020.<ref name="merrigan">{{Cite web |date=2019-12-04 |title=Van Johnson wins Savannah's mayoral runoff |url=https://www.wsav.com/news/your-local-election-hq/van-johnson-wins-savannahs-mayoral-runoff/ |access-date=2019-12-04 |website=WSAV-TV |language=en-US}}</ref> In November 2020, Mayor Johnson was elected among 16 Biden-Harris electors from Georgia for the Electoral College in the 2020 Presidential Election.<ref>{{Cite web| title=Certificate of Ascertainment | url=https://www.archives.gov/files/electoral-college/2020/ascertainment-georgia.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124160803/https://www.archives.gov/files/electoral-college/2020/ascertainment-georgia.pdf | archive-date=2020-11-24}}</ref> On November 7, 2023, he was re-elected Mayor of Savannah with 77% of the vote against Kesha Gibson-Carter and T.L. Davis.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Savannah mayoral race: The candidates {{!}} WSAV-TV | url=https://www.wsav.com/news/your-local-election-hq/savannah-mayoral-race-2023/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107214824/https://www.wsav.com/news/your-local-election-hq/savannah-mayoral-race-2023/ | access-date=2025-12-31 | archive-date=2023-11-07}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}{{Mayors of Savannah, Georgia}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Van R.}} Category:1968 births Category:Living people Category:2020 United States presidential electors Category:21st-century African-American politicians Category:21st-century mayors of places in Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Politicians from Brooklyn Category:African-American mayors in Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Georgia (U.S. state) Democrats Category:Alpha Phi Alpha members Category:Savannah State University alumni Category:Georgia Southern University alumni Category:Mayors of Savannah, Georgia
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