In The News | Dr. Kevin R. Johnson

Kevin Johnson seeks to unseat congressional incumbent in 3rd District

April 20, 2018 by Dr. Kevin R Johnson in In The News

Rev. Kevin Johnson is aiming to go from the pulpit to Congress.

Johnson, a political newcomer, will compete in the May 15 Democratic primary for the 3rd Congressional District.

He will face off against incumbent Dwight Evans, a Democrat who has represented the 2nd District since 2016. The newly crafted congressional district put in place this year will move Evans from the 2nd to the 3rd district.

As Johnson prepares to compete for the Democratic line against Evans, he assailed the incumbent’s nearly four decades in the State House and said, “It’s time for change.”

“I am not a career politician,” Johnson said during a recent Philadelphia Tribune editorial board meeting. “I am a person who is committed to the community. … When you look at someone who has been in office for nearly 40 years, that’s not change. We have to begin to plan for the future of Philadelphia.” Read More

POLS ON THE STREET: Welcome Aboard, School Board! Check Lifejackets

April 12, 2018 by Dr. Kevin R Johnson in Editorials / In The News / Press Releases

BY JOE SHAHEELI
Philadelphia crossed a historic milestone when it recovered its own Board of Education, freed from State management as of July 1, 2018.

Few are mourning this change, on either side of City Line Avenue. With important exceptions, the City doesn’t trust the State to deliver and the State doesn’t trust the City to deliver. Each is chary of its resources – particularly Philadelphia, which is much more dynamic economically now than it was when the School Reform Commission was established in 2001. Today it is Philadelphia that is growing, while most of Keystone Red State is stagnating economically.

Pennsylvania’s New Congressional Map is a Really (Really) Big Deal

March 24, 2018 by Dr. Kevin R Johnson in In The News / Press Releases

by BRIAN HOWARD· 3/24/2018, 8:56 p.m.

After some high-stakes, white-knuckle legal wrangling, Pennsylvania has a brand-new Congressional map. The short version: The state’s Supreme Court ruled that the old map was an unconstitutional gerrymander and — when Harrisburg couldn’t produce a better one — went ahead and drew its own. And the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene. Twice. Now, with the May primaries fast approaching, everyone’s scrambling to make sense of a drastically new normal.

This is, to be blunt, a monumental shake-up. It has scrambled strategies locally and is guaranteed to put the state in the national spotlight as the 2018 midterms unfold.

PFT backing Johnson in the 3rd Congressional District

March 23, 2018 by Dr. Kevin R Johnson in In The News / Press Releases

John N. Mitchell Tribune Staff Writer Mar 23, 2018

The Rev. Kevin Johnson picked up the crucial endorsement of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers earlier this week in his bid to defeat Congressman Dwight Evans in the newly drawn 3rd Congressional District in next month’s primary.

“We believe that Kevin is the right person to take the fight for the future of public education and working people to Washington,” said PFT President Jerry Jordan. “Our students and communities need strong advocates in Washington fighting for them and with them. Educators and families across the 3rd District must have a representative committed to investing in public education, workers’ rights, and marginalized communities. Kevin’s platform can bring that change to Capitol Hill.”

Johnson, the lead Pastor at Dare to Imagine Church in the Mount Airy section of the city and the CEO of Philadelphia Opportunities Industrialization Center, Inc. (OIC) originally announced that he was running for the 1st Congressional district under the old map. However, with the redraw, Johnson lives in the new 3rd District, which includes most of the city west of Broad Street.

Candidates scramble to get edge in new congressional boundaries

February 28, 2018 by Dr. Kevin R Johnson in In The News / Press Releases

Johann Calhoun Tribune Staff Writer Feb 28, 2018

The state’s new congressional boundaries have former candidates of the now old 1st district seat scrambling to find their political footing.

Before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court approved the new congressional boundaries last week, Democratic U.S. Rep. Bob Brady’s 1st Congressional district witnessed six candidates announcing their bid to replace the long-time congressman.

Brady announced in January he would not seek another term in Congress, giving up the seat he’s held for two decades. The FBI last year filed charges against four people in an investigation into a payment his campaign made to a primary opponent in 2012. Three people have pleaded guilty, including a political consultant to Brady.

Congressional hopefuls scramble as Pa. districts shuffled

February 27, 2018 by Dr. Kevin R Johnson in In The News / Press Releases

By Dave Davies February 27, 2018

Candidates for U.S. Congress in Pennsylvania begin circulating their nominating petitions Tuesday in new districts created by the state Supreme Court after it found the old districts to be gerrymandered.

The redistricting has caused a scramble as candidates try to match their political ambitions, their home addresses, and the newly drawn districts.

Several candidates announced plans to run for the seat of U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, who decided not to seek re-election.

One, former Philadelphia Deputy Mayor Nina Ahmad, announced early and invested $450,000 of her own cash into the campaign. Then she saw the court order.

Pennsylvania Midterm Election Kicks Off Amid Multiple Lawsuits and Growing Confusion

February 27, 2018 by Dr. Kevin R Johnson in In The News / Press Releases

By Alicia Victoria Lozano
Published at 5:59 PM EST on Feb 27, 2018 | Updated at 5:56 PM EST on Feb 27, 2018

Amid multiple lawsuits and escalating tension, Pennsylvania’s midterm elections kicked off Tuesday.

It was the first day candidates could circulate petitions in what has become one of the most closely watched races in the nation.

“Are you a registered Democrat?” asked a campaign volunteer wearing a blue Dwight Evans for Congress T-shirt.

The man standing outside a Shop Rite market in Roxborough carrying a clipboard was one of many campaign volunteers who fanned out collecting signatures on behalf of their favorite candidates.

Johnson Switches to Newly Drawn PA-3

February 26, 2018 by Dr. Kevin R Johnson in In The News / Press Releases

Written by Paul Engelkemier, Managing Editor

Democratic Congressional candidate Kevin Johnson announced he will continue running for Congress in the newly drawn 3rd Congressional district.

Johnson originally announced he was running for the 1st Congressional district under the old map, but with the redraw, Johnson lives in the new 3rd district.

Minister joins the hunt for Brady’s seat in Congress

February 3, 2018 by Dr. Kevin R Johnson in In The News / Press Releases

By Dave Davies February 3, 2018

Another candidate has joined the crowded field of Democrats hoping to replace U.S. Rep Bob Brady, who announced Wednesday he won’t seek re-election this year.

Kevin Johnson, a minister and CEO of Philadelphia OIC, a 50-year-old job training program, declared his candidacy Friday morning to about 100 cheering supporters.

Johnson praised Brady, calling him “a champion for our region,” then quickly said he would not be a candidate “connected to the non-progressive political structure.”

And he promised to be a “bold, innovative and progressive” candidate who fights for the poor and forgotten.

Johnson, who has headed Philadelphia OIC since 2015, said he’d tripled its budget and expanded its job-training reach.

Before taking that job, Johnson was pastor for seven years at Bright Hope Baptist Church, the venerable 107-year-old house of worship in North Philadelphia that was led for years by U.S. Rep. William H. Gray III. Read More