Kenneth L. Johnson

This page was current at the end of the official's last term in office covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Kenneth L. Johnson

Nonpartisan

Prior offices

Cleveland City Council Ward 4

Successor: Marion Anita Gardner

* * *

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last election

September 14, 2021

Education

High school

John Adams High School

Associate

Cuyahoga Community College

Bachelor's

Cleveland State University

Kenneth L. Johnson was a member of the Cleveland City Council in Ohio, representing Ward 4. He assumed office in 1980. He left office in 2021.

Johnson ran for election to the Cleveland City Council to represent Ward 4 in Ohio. He lost in the primary on September 14, 2021.

Johnson retired from city council in late December 2012. However, the Cleveland City Council appointed him to serve out the remainder of his term in early January 2013 in a 13-3 vote. Johnson's reappointment created controversy because it allowed him to draw funds from his public pension, while simultaneously receiving a $74,000 per year salary for his interim city council position.[1]

## Contents

* 1 Biography
* 2 Elections
* 2.1 2021
* 2.2 2017
* 3 Campaign themes
* 3.1 2021
* 4 Noteworthy events
* 4.1 Convicted of federal corruption charges and sentenced to 6 years in prison (2021)
* 5 See also
* 6 External links
* 7 Footnotes

## Biography[edit]

Johnson attended John Adams High School, Cuyahoga Community College, and Cleveland State University. He has seven sons.[2]

## Elections[edit]

### 2021[edit]

See also: City elections in Cleveland, Ohio (2021)

General election

##### General election for Cleveland City Council Ward 4

Deborah Gray defeated Erick Walker, Dontez Taylor, and Antoine Tolbert in the general election for Cleveland City Council Ward 4 on November 2, 2021.

Candidate

Votes

|
|
|

✔ |

| Deborah Gray (Nonpartisan) |

62.1

| 1,989

| Erick Walker (Nonpartisan) |

36.3

| 1,164

| Dontez Taylor (Nonpartisan) (Write-in)  |

| 0

| Antoine Tolbert (Nonpartisan) (Write-in)  |

| 0
|  | Other/Write-in votes |

1.6

| 52

* * *

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

| Total votes: 3,205

|
|

= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

##### Nonpartisan primary for Cleveland City Council Ward 4

The following candidates ran in the primary for Cleveland City Council Ward 4 on September 14, 2021.

Candidate

Votes

|
|
|

✔ |

| Deborah Gray (Nonpartisan) |

26.7

| 670
✔ |

| Erick Walker (Nonpartisan) |

19.1

| 478

| Craig Willis (Nonpartisan)  |

12.8

| 320

| Ashley Evans (Nonpartisan)  |

9.7

| 243

| Kenneth L. Johnson (Nonpartisan)  |

7.6

| 190

| Mario Snowden (Nonpartisan)  |

5.9

| 149

| Cecil Ekechukwu (Nonpartisan) |

5.6

| 141

| Mike Shomo (Nonpartisan)  |

3.8

| 95

| Arnold Shurn (Nonpartisan)  |

3.7

| 92

| Vanessa Crumb (Nonpartisan)  |

2.9

| 72

| Rowland Mitchell (Nonpartisan)  |

2.4

| 59

* * *

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

| Total votes: 2,509

|
|

= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

#### Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

* S. Xavier Allen (Nonpartisan)
* Torrean Williams (Nonpartisan)
* Antoine Tolbert (Nonpartisan)
* Dontez Taylor (Nonpartisan)
* LaShorn Caldwell (Nonpartisan)

### 2017[edit]

See also: Municipal elections in Cleveland, Ohio (2017)

The city of Cleveland, Ohio, held elections on November 7, 2017. A primary election occurred on September 12, 2017. The mayor and all 17 seats on the city council were up for election. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was June 29, 2017.[3]

Incumbent Kenneth L. Johnson defeated Gail Sparks in the general election for Ward 4 of the Cleveland City Council.[4]

Cleveland City Council, Ward 4 General Election, 2017

Candidate | Vote % | Votes
Kenneth L. Johnson Incumbent | 56.65% | 2,262
Gail Sparks | 43.30% | 1,729
Write-in votes | 0.05% | 2
Total Votes | 3,993
Source: Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, "General Election Official Results," November 22, 2017

The following candidates ran in the primary election for Ward 4 of the Cleveland City Council.[5]

Cleveland City Council, Ward 4 Nonpartisan Primary Election, 2017

Candidate | Vote % | Votes
Kenneth L. Johnson Incumbent | 48.14% | 1,179
Gail Sparks | 22.62% | 554
Rowland Mitchell | 13.11% | 321
Arnold Shurn | 6.08% | 149
LaShorn Caldwell | 4.45% | 109
Julie Donaldson | 2.29% | 56
Cecil Ekechukwu | 2.04% | 50
Ngozi Adigwe | 0.98% | 24
Write-in votes | 0.29% | 7
Total Votes | 2,449
Source: Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, "Official Election Results," September 12, 2017

## Campaign themes[edit]

### 2021[edit]

#### Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Kenneth L. Johnson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.

## Noteworthy events[edit]

### Convicted of federal corruption charges and sentenced to 6 years in prison (2021)[edit]

’’See also: Noteworthy criminal misconduct in American politics (2021-2022)’’

On October 8, 2021, Johnson was sentenced to 6 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $700,000 in restitution after being found guilty on six counts of federal program theft, two counts of conspiracy to commit federal program theft, five counts of aiding the preparation of false tax returns, one count of tampering with a witness, and one count of falsification of records in a federal investigation.[6]

Johnson was indicted on February 18, 2021 and found guilty on July 30, 2021.[7] Prosecutors on the case said Johnson netted $150,000 from claiming city council reimbursements related to falsified timesheets, depositing some of his sons' checks into his own bank account, and inflating the value of his tax deductions and under-reporting. Prosecutors claimed Johnson owes more than $90,000 in back taxes.[8]

As of December 10, 2021, Johnson had not issued a statement in response to the charges.

## See also[edit]

2021 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislature State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

Documenting America's Path to Recovery The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

## External links[edit]

* Search Google News for this topic

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ Cleveland.com, "Cleveland City Council allows retired colleague Ken Johnson to double dip in re-appointment," January 7, 2013
2. ↑ City of Cleveland, "Kenneth Johnson Ward 4," accessed October 18, 2017
3. ↑ Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, "2017 Election Calendar," accessed February 2, 2017
4. ↑ Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, "2017 Candidate List," July 7, 2017
5. ↑ Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, "2017 Candidate List," July 7, 2017
6. ↑ WKYC Studios, "Former Cleveland Councilman Ken Johnson sentenced to 6 years in prison for 15 corruption-related charges; ordered to pay $700,000 in restitution," October 8, 2021
7. ↑ WKYC Studios, "Ken Johnson removed from Cleveland City Council after being found guilty of 15 federal charges," July 30, 2021
8. ↑ WKYC Studios, "Cleveland City Councilman Ken Johnson arrested after indicted by federal grand jury on corruption charges: Read the indictment," February 23, 2021

Political offices

Preceded by
'  | Cleveland City Council, Ward 4
1980 - 2021  | Succeeded by
Marion Anita Gardner (interim)

v • e

2021 Municipal Elections

Local Elections|

Municipal Government • Local Courts • School Boards • Local Ballot Measures

Ballotpedia Coverage|

Federal Politics • State Politics • Local Politics • Public Policy • Influencers • Fact check • The Tap

v • e

State of Ohio
Columbus (capital)

|

Elections |

What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2022 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures

Government |

Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy

v • e

Largest U.S. Cities by Population
Mayors • City council officials • Overlapping counties • Municipal partisanship

A-C|

Albuquerque • Anaheim • Anchorage • Arlington • Atlanta • Aurora • Austin • Bakersfield • Baltimore • Baton Rouge • Boise • Boston • Buffalo • Chandler • Charlotte • Chesapeake • Chicago • Chula Vista • Cincinnati • Cleveland • Colorado Springs • Columbus • Corpus Christi

D-H|

Dallas • Denver • Detroit • Durham • El Paso • Fort Wayne • Fort Worth • Fremont • Fresno • Garland • Gilbert • Glendale • Greensboro • Henderson • Hialeah • Honolulu • Houston

I-M|

Indianapolis • Irvine • Irving • Jacksonville • Jersey City • Kansas City • Laredo • Las Vegas • Lexington • Lincoln • Long Beach • Los Angeles • Louisville • Lubbock • Madison • Memphis • Mesa • Miami • Milwaukee • Minneapolis

N-R|

Nashville-Davidson • New Orleans • New York • Newark • Norfolk • North Las Vegas • Oakland • Oklahoma City • Omaha • Orlando • Philadelphia • Phoenix • Pittsburgh • Plano • Portland • Raleigh • Reno • Richmond • Riverside

S-W|

Sacramento • San Antonio • San Diego • San Francisco • San Jose • Santa Ana • Santa Clarita • Scottsdale • Seattle • Spokane • St. Louis • St. Paul • St. Petersburg • Stockton • Tampa • Toledo • Tucson • Tulsa • Virginia Beach • Wichita • Winston-Salem