Gary Johnson: Difference between revisions
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#REDIRECT [[Gary Johnson]] |
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{{Infobox Governor |
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|name = Gary Earl Johnson |
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|image = Gary Johnson.jpg |
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|imagesize = 200px |
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|caption = Johnson speaking at Ron Paul's [[Campaign for Liberty#Rally for the Republic|Rally for the Republic]], September 2008 |
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|order = 29th |
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|office = Governor of New Mexico |
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|term_start = January 1, 1995 |
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|term_end = January 1, 2003 |
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|lieutenant = [[Walter Bradley]] |
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|predecessor = [[Bruce King]] |
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|successor = [[Bill Richardson]] |
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|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1953|1|1|mf=y}} |
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|birth_place = [[Minot, North Dakota]] |
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|death_date = |
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|death_place = |
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|party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] |
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|spouse = Dee Johnson (1977-2005) (divorced) |
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|profession = [[Businessman]] |
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|religion = [[Lutheran]] |
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| alma_mater = [[University of New Mexico]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]]) |
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}} |
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'''Gary Earl Johnson''' (born January 1, 1953) was the [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] [[Governor of New Mexico|governor]] of the [[U.S. state]] of [[New Mexico]] from 1995 to 2003. |
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==Background== |
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Johnson attended the [[University of New Mexico]] at [[Albuquerque]] from 1971 to 1975 and graduated with a [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree.<ref>{{cite web |
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| title =Candidate Profile from Congressional Quarterly| publisher =[[CNN]]| url =http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/1998/states/NM/G/gary.johnson.html| accessdate =2009-07-19 }}</ref> |
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It was there that he met his future wife, Denise "Dee" Simms. |
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While in college, Johnson earned money as a door-to-door handyman. His success in that arena encouraged him to start his own business, Big J Enterprises, which was founded in 1976. He eventually grew Big J into a multi-million dollar corporation. <ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m5092/is_n1_v19/ai_16575225 interview in New Mexico Business Journal Jan-Feb, 1995]</ref> By the time he sold the company, in 1999, it was one of New Mexico's leading construction companies.<ref>[http://people.forbes.com/profile/governor-gary-e-johnson/3646 Forbes.com profile]</ref> |
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He has two children, a daughter, Seah, and a son, Erik. |
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==Governor of New Mexico== |
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In 1994, Johnson received the Republican nomination for governor after a long primary campaign and close primary election. Despite having little experience in politics and despite the usual Democratic-leaning politics of New Mexico,<ref name="wsj nm"> |
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{{cite news |
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| last = Simon |
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| first = Stephanie |
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| title = GOP Seeks New Mexico Comeback |
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| work = Wall Street Journal |
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| date = [[2009-04-26]] |
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| url = http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124079114333557757.html |
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| accessdate = 2009-04-26 }}</ref> Johnson was able to sway both Republicans and [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] towards his [[libertarian]] beliefs. In the state general election, he defeated the incumbent [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic]] Governor [[Bruce King]] by 50% to 40%. Johnson was elected in a nationally Republican year,<ref> [http://lib.nmsu.edu/cruces/elec/elec94.html 1994 NM Election Results]</ref> though party registration in the state of New Mexico at the time was 2-to-1 Democratic.<ref>[http://race42008.com/2008/11/26/governor-gary-johnsons-seven-principles-of-good-government/ Governor Gary Johnson’s “Seven Principles of Good Government.”]</ref> |
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In 1995, Johnson was criticized<ref name=militia>Halpern, Thomas; Rosenberg, David; Suall, Irwin (Jan. 1996) [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1272/is_n2608_v124/ai_17868063/pg_9 "Militia movement: prescription for disaster], USA Today.</ref> when he met with representatives of the New Mexico [[militia]] movement, soon after the [[Oklahoma City bombing]]. Johnson responded that he was meeting with the militia movement members to ensure that they remained non-violent.<ref name=militia/> |
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In 1998, Johnson was re-elected as governor, defeating Democratic [[Albuquerque, New Mexico|Albuquerque]] Mayor [[Martin Chavez]] by a 55% to 45% margin.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/1998/states/NM/G/index.html CNN election results 1998]</ref> |
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In 1999, Johnson became the highest-ranking elected official in the United States to advocate the repeal of [[Prohibition (drugs)|drug prohibition]]. Saying the [[War on Drugs]] was "an expensive bust," he advocated the [[decriminalization]] of both drug use and possession in order to save money and potentially regulate currently [[illegal drugs]]. His position was similar to that of the [[Libertarian Party of the United States|Libertarian Party]] in many ways, and led many political observers to believe he would run for political office as a Libertarian in the future.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/US/9910/06/legalizing.drugs.01/ CNN.com]</ref> |
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Under Johnson's administration, New Mexico experienced the longest period without a tax increase in the state's history, the rate of growth in the state government was cut in half, half of the state's prisons were [[Privatization|privatized]], state [[Medicaid]] was shifted to managed care, and the state was left with approximately 1,000 fewer employees (with no firings) and a budget surplus.<ref>[http://race42008.com/2008/11/26/governor-gary-johnsons-seven-principles-of-good-government/ Governor Gary Johnson’s “Seven Principles of Good Government.”]</ref> Johnson vetoed 750 bills (which was more than all the vetoes of the other 49 Governors in the country at that time, combined), which earned him the nickname Gary "Veto" Johnson.<ref>[http://race42008.com/2008/11/26/governor-gary-johnsons-seven-principles-of-good-government/ Governor Gary Johnson’s “Seven Principles of Good Government.”]</ref> |
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To this day, Johnson carries with him his "Seven Principles of Good Government": |
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<blockquote> |
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1. Become reality driven. Don’t kid yourself or others. |
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Find out what’s what and base your decisions and actions |
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on that. |
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<p> |
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2. Always be honest and tell the truth. It’s extremely |
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difficult to do any damage to anybody when you are |
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willing to tell the truth–regardless of the |
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consequences. |
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<p> |
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3. Always do what’s right and fair. Remember, the more |
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you actually accomplish, the louder your critics become. |
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You’ve got to learn to ignore your critics. You’ve got to |
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continue to do what you think is right. You’ve got to |
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maintain your integrity. |
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<p> |
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4. Determine your goal, develop a plan to reach that |
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goal, and then act. Don’t procrastinate. |
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<p> |
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5. Make sure everybody who ought to know what you’re |
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doing knows what you’re doing. Communicate. |
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<p> |
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6. Don’t hesitate to deliver bad news. There is always |
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time to salvage things. There is always time to fix |
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things. Henry Kissinger said that anything that can be |
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revealed eventually should be revealed immediately. |
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<p> |
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7. Last, be willing to do whatever it takes to get your |
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job done. If you’ve got a job that you don’t love enough |
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to do what it takes to get your job done, then quit and |
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get one that you do love, and then make a difference.<ref>[http://race42008.com/2008/11/26/governor-gary-johnsons-seven-principles-of-good-government/ Governor Gary Johnson’s “Seven Principles of Good Government.”]</ref> |
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</blockquote> |
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==Post-gubernatorial life== |
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Johnson was [[term limits in the United States|term limited]] and could not run for a third consecutive term as governor in 2002.<ref>{{citation |
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|url=http://www.nga.org/Files/pdf/BOS4-9.pdf |
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|title=Constitutional and statutory provisions for number of consecutive terms of elected state officials |
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|publisher=National Governors Association |
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|accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> In the [[United States presidential election, 2008|2008 election]] campaign, Johnson endorsed [[Ron Paul]] for the Republican presidential nomination.<ref>[http://www.ronpaul2008.com/press-releases/155/former-new-mexico-governor-gary-johnson-endorses-ron-paul Official Ron Paul website]</ref> |
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He is an avid triathlete who runs several miles each day and abstains from all recreational drug use, caffeine, alcohol, and some sugar products. During his term in office, he competed in several [[triathlon]]s and was also an outspoken advocate for physical fitness. In 2003, he climbed [[Mount Everest]].<ref>[http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2003/jun/08/former_governor_scales/ "Former governor scales Mount Everest" Lawrence Journal-World Online Edition Lawrence, KS]</ref> |
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On September 29, 2005, it was reported in the ''[[Albuquerque Journal]]'' that Johnson and his wife, Dee, were divorcing. At that time Johnson stated that he initiated the separation and that he had become involved in a new relationship<ref>[http://joemonahansnewmexico.blogspot.com/ABQjournal_%20Ex-Gov.%20Johnson,%20Wife%20Are%20Divorcing%20-%20Netscape.pdf Leslie Linthicum Albuquerque Journal]</ref>. The couple finalized their divorce later that year. They had been married since 1977. On December 22, 2006, Dee Johnson died of hypertensive [[cardiovascular disease]] at the age of 54<ref>[http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/56804.html Santa Fe New Mexican Feb 11, 2007]</ref>. |
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Johnson currently serves on the board of directors of [[Students for Sensible Drug Policy]], a youth-oriented [[nonprofit]] organization that seeks to end the war on drugs<ref>[http://ssdp.org/staff/ SSDP National Staff page]</ref>. |
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=== Possible 2012 presidential run === |
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Johnson has expressed interest in running for [[President of the United States]] in the [[United States presidential election, 2012|2012 election]]. <ref>[http://libertymaven.com/2008/11/09/the-next-ron-paul-gary-johnson-confirms-interest-in-2012-presidential-run/3149/ Gary Johnson Confirms Interest In 2012 Presidential Run]</ref><ref name="Kauffman">{{cite web|url=http://www.amconmag.com/article/2009/apr/20/00035/|title=The Republic Strikes Back|publisher=The American Conservative|author=Bill Kauffman|accessdate=04 April 2009|date=21 April 2009}}</ref> |
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In the November 18, 2008 edition of ''The Western Standard'', author and political pundit [[Marc Emery]] published an article entitled "Gary Johnson for President 2012," in which he posited that Johnson could win the support of Rep. Ron Paul if Johnson chose to embark on a presidential campaign in 2012.<ref>[[Marc Emery|Emery, Marc]] (November 16, 2008) [http://www.westernstandard.ca/website/article.php?id=2921 "Gary Johnson for President in 2012"], ''Western Standard.ca''. Retrieved on August 5, 2009.</ref> |
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In the April 20, 2009 edition of ''[[The American Conservative]] Magazine'', Bill Kauffman told readers to "keep an eye out" for a Johnson presidential campaign in 2012, reporting that Johnson had told him that "he was keeping his options open for 2012" and that "he may take a shot at the Republican presidential nomination in 2012 as an antiwar, anti-[[Federal Reserve System|Fed]], pro-personal liberties, slash-government-spending candidate—in other words, a Ron Paul libertarian".<ref name="Kauffman">{{cite web|url=http://www.amconmag.com/article/2009/apr/20/00035/|title=The Republic Strikes Back|publisher=The American Conservative|author=Bill Kauffman|accessdate=04 April 2009|date=21 April 2009}}</ref> |
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During a June 24, 2009 appearance on FOX News's <i>Freedom Watch</i>, host Judge [[Andrew Napolitano]] asked Johnson if he would run for President in 2012, to which Johnson responded that he thought it would be inappropriate to openly express his desires before President Obama is given the opportunity to prove himself, but he followed up that statement by saying "it appears personal freedoms are being shoveled out the window, more and more."<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/video/index.html?playerId=videolandingpage&streamingFormat=FLASH&referralObject=6265182&referralPlaylistId=search|freedom%20watch Gary Johnson interviewed on FOX News's Freedom Watch 6/24]</ref> |
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== References == |
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{{Reflist}} |
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== External links == |
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* [http://reason.com/0101/fe.ml.americas.shtml "America's Most Dangerous Politician"], interview in ''[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]]'' by Michael Lynch. |
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* [http://www.garyjohnson2012.com/ "garyjohnson2012.com"], unofficial Gary Johnson 2012 web site. |
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{{start box}} |
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{{s-off}} |
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{{succession box |
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| before=[[Bruce King]] |
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| title=[[List of Governors of New Mexico|Governor of New Mexico]] |
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| after=[[Bill Richardson (politician)|Bill Richardson]] |
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| years=1995-2003 |
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}} |
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{{end box}} |
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{{Governors of New Mexico}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Gary E.}} |
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[[Category:Governors of New Mexico]] |
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[[Category:American businesspeople]] |
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[[Category:American Lutherans]] |
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[[Category:American libertarians]] |
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[[Category:Republican Liberty Caucus members]] |
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[[Category:Drug policy reform activists]] |
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[[Category:Summiters of Mount Everest]] |
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[[Category:Libertarian politicians]] |
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[[Category:People from Albuquerque, New Mexico]] |
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[[Category:People from Minot, North Dakota]] |
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{{Lifetime|1953||Johnson, Gary E.}} |
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[[de:Gary Johnson]] |
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[[fr:Gary Earl Johnson]] |
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[[ko:게리 E. 존슨]] |
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[[sv:Gary E. Johnson]] |
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Revision as of 05:12, 6 August 2009
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