Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson greets supporters at Kirkwood Temple in Oak Cliff. (David Taffet/Dallas Voice)
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson announces she will not seek another term in office after her current term ends
DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
taffet@dallasvoice.com
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson has announced that she will complete her term in office but will not run for re-election in 2022. She made the announcement in front of hundreds of supporters at Kirkwood Temple in Oak Cliff on Saturday, Nov. 20, as she stood surrounded by her family.
“Nothing has been more overwhelming than the heartwarming support for me to run one more time,” Johnson said, adding that she went back and forth on the decision many times. But, she said, when she announced she would run for her current term, she had said it would be her last. And she was determined stick to that promise.
Johnson caps her 30 years in Congress as the first woman and the first African-American to chair the Science, Space and Technology Committee.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said in a written statement, “Chairwoman Johnson has made progress, as a lawmaker with a track record of success for America’s children and future, including to promote STEM education, ensure diversity and inclusion in science and combat the climate crisis with a firm focus on innovation.”
Pelosi, on a trip to Dallas several years ago, told Dallas Voice that when it came to science, colleagues trusted what Johnson had to say.
According to Rep. Collin Allred, “Nearly every Texan has benefited in some way from the work of Congresswoman Johnson. Her legacy is remarkable, and I can tell you firsthand from our shared work on the Transportation Committee that no one works harder for their constituents.”
Stonewall Democrats of Dallas President Todd Hill-Jones called her “legendary,” and he thanked her for her friendship and support of Stonewall and the LGBTQ community.
Johnson first moved to Dallas to become the first Black nurse at the Dallas V.A. Despite facing discrimination at the hospital, she rose to become its chief psychiatric nurse, a position she held for 16 years.
She switched from nursing to politics when she ran for a seat in the Texas Legislature in 1972. When she won her race in a landslide, she became the first African-American woman ever elected to any office in Dallas County.
During her terms in office in the Texas House, Johnson became the first woman to chair a Texas House committee — the Labor Committee.
In 1977, Johnson left the Texas Legislature for a position in the Carter administration when President Jimmy Carter appointed her regional director of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Again, she was the first African-American woman to hold the position.
Some of Congresswoman Johnson’s family (David Taffet/Dallas Voice)
She returned to the state Legislature in 1986 when she was elected state senator. Recalling her Legislative career, Johnson said that when she was appointed to chair the redistricting committee, it was “the worst job I ever had.” Her years in the U.S. House of Representatives have been “challenging times,” she said, “but that comes with the territory.”
Among her many accomplishments, Johnson listed DART as her number one priority, something she began working on from “the day I got there.” She said she’s directed millions to Dallas area transit but has lost count how much. Union Station in downtown Dallas has been renamed for her in recognition of her work on behalf of public transportation.
Johnson became a friend and ally of the LGBTQ community during her years in the state Senate, early in the AIDS crisis. While legislators in both houses were introducing bills to put all gay men under quarantine or in internment camps, Johnson met with leaders of the LGBTQ community to ask what the community needed.
Her nursing background helped her craft legislation that helped people living with HIV and gave her credibility among other senators. Her legislation helping people with AIDS receive care was the first AIDS legislation to pass in Texas. And as a member of the Finance Committee, Johnson directed money to research as well as improving access to health care.
In 1992, exactly 20 years after first being elected to the Legislature, Johnson was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. She was the first registered nurse ever elected to Congress. When she leaves office in January 2023, she will have served 30 of her 50 years of public service in the U.S. House.
In announcing her retirement, Johnson thanked her colleagues — including her Republican friends: “There are sane ones who helped me be successful,” she assured a skeptical audience. “I respected my colleagues because they respected me.”
And then came her bombshell: “I am pleased to announce my retirement,” she said.
As the audience began shouting, “We love you,” Johnson said she still has almost a year and a half left in office and that “I will do my best during that time.”
At the end of her term, though, she said, “I will step down.”
She said she would announce an endorsement before the primary and hoped to support a qualified woman as her replacement. A number of names have emerged as possible candidates.
The one name repeated most often is that of state Rep. Jasmine Crockett, 40, who is serving her first term in office representing the 100th District, which includes the Design District, West Dallas and portions of Oak Cliff and South Dallas. Her seat was previously held by Eric Johnson who stepped down when he was elected mayor.
Crockett is known for her warmth and engaging personality as well as her knowledge of the issues.
Jane Hamilton switched from exploratory committee to campaign mode the night Johnson made her announcement. She has served as campaign manager for County Judge Clay Jenkins and Rep. Marc Veasey. In 2020, she was the Democratic Primary state director for Joe Biden’s campaign and general election strategic advisor for the Biden-Harris campaign.
The Dallas Morning News suggests state Reps. Toni Rose and Yvonne Davis of Dallas and Carl Sherman of DeSoto may also be interested in running.
Sen. Royce West, who replaced Johnson in the state Senate, has long been viewed as her logical replacement in Congress. But last week, West filed for re-election to his Texas Senate seat.
A number of judges who attended Johnson’s event may be exploring a run. The only one who has publicly expressed an interest in the seat is former state District Judge Elizabeth Frizell.
Dallas City Councilwoman Vonciel Jones Hill has thrown her hat in the ring to replace Johnson. The LGBTQ community recently help quash Hill’s bid for a seat on the DART board earlier this year in response to Hill’s anti-LGBTQ record on the city council.
Former state Rep. Barbara Mallory Caraway has challenged Johnson in the previous five elections. Johnson made it clear when she said she would endorse someone to replace her in Congress that she would absolutely not endorse anyone who had already been rejected by the voters in her district.
Johnson’s career is one of firsts. As the longest serving member of the House from Texas, she’ll be hard to replace.