Meet the Candidates: Jordon Johnson and Pete Johnson

Minnesotans will vote in the 2024 primary election on August 13. To help our viewers make informed decisions WDIO news is doing candidate interviews so you can hear directly from those wanting to represent you in St. Paul.

After Minnesota district 8A’s four term Representative Democrat Liz Olson announced she’d step down last month, her seat is now open for the taking.

In the August 13 primary, two democrats are facing off for a chance at running for the seat in St. Paul; consultant Dr. Jordon Johnson and Firefighter Pete Johnson. For both candidates, their intention to run is rooted deeply in community issues.

“I’ve been a firefighter here in Duluth for about 19 years,” Pete Johnson explained, “ Realizing over the years that many of the things that we get called to are rooted in something else. So for us, that could be an education issue, it could be a housing issue, access to healthcare, or stable, good job availability, things like that. And those things end up, if those needs aren’t addressed, those end up manifesting and someone calling 911 looking for somebody to help them.”

“I would always kind of lean and work with the community at large but the future of housing is a really important issue in our area and district and what that looks like moving forward, given the kind of rates of property taxes that have continued to increase and we have to just monitor that make sure that we are not pushing people out of our housing. I think also investing in education is an important piece particularly because education has saved my life in many ways, and it also helped inform me of what it means to be immersed in community and working with community.” Said Dr. Johnson.

We then asked both candidates what they thought they brought to the seat that was unique to them. For Dr. Johnson, it included experiencing some of the issues he cares about growing up.

“So for me I have a lot of lived experience of being housing insecurity and economic insecurity as a child and also this kind of working in community and being immersed in community particularly with our indigenous black communities of color and lifting up voices for the community because I recognize the importance that our community voices are critical and policies impact everyone’s lives.”

For Pete Johnson, he spoke about what he’d seen during his career as a firefighter.

“I’ve responded to thousands of calls in our district for people calling 911 looking for help. when someone’s calling 911 because they don’t know what else to do, you really see them at some of their most vulnerable times. They’re scared, they’re desperate. It gives a pretty unique perspective into what folks really need and what those issues are. And I wanna be able to bring that with me and help make that compelling argument as to why we need to address some of these things. Because I’ve seen the impacts that it has when somebody transitions from being unsheltered to having a safe and stable place to live and watched those things improve their lives real time.”

The two Johnsons will face off in coming the primary on August 13.

8A Republican candidate Mark McGrew is running unopposed.

More information on voting and local races is available from the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website.