State Sen. Debbie Johnson has announced that she will not be seeking re-election this fall to the Senate; instead Johnson, a 43-year county resident, will seek election to the nonpartisan District 2 Anoka County Board seat currently held by Dick Lang.

First elected to the State Senate in District 49 in a four-way race in 2000 and re-elected in 2002 and 2006, Johnson, a Ham Lake resident, said that she was looking forward to the upcoming race.  
“I have had a strong desire to enter the commissioner’s race for some time now,” she said.  

“While it has been a tremendous honor to have been able to represent my friends and neighbors in the Senate, the residents of Anoka County deserve solid conservative leadership on the board that will work to lower property taxes and cut bureaucracy, and I believe I have the public service background and necessary experience to make that happen.”

Johnson, who described herself as one of the Senate’s most conservative members, is currently the senior Republican on the Senate Tax Committee and also serves as a member of the commerce and consumer protection; health, housing and family security; and capital investment committees.  

She is a past member of the Senate’s education, transportation and crime committees.

According to Johnson, over the course of her Senate career she has carried many important pieces of legislation, including the bill securing funding to construct the new Anoka County Sheriff’s Department Forensic Lab.  

She is best known for authoring the law legalizing the sale of ground level fireworks in Minnesota, something that had been prohibited since 1961, Johnson said.

Johnson has been honored by many organizations for her legislative leadership, including the Minnesota Taxpayers League, Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, the National Rifle Association, the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association and the Police Officers Alliance of Minnesota, among others, she said.  

She is a three-time recipient of the Friend of the Taxpayers award and is a past recipient of the NFIB’s Guardian of Small Business award, Johnson said.

“I am looking forward to a spirited race and once again getting out and earning the support of my fellow Anoka County residents,” Johnson said. “Together I believe we can restore fiscal responsibility to county government.”

Last month, Senate District 49 Republicans at their district convention endorsed Michelle Benson over Johnson for this fall’s election. Senate District 49 includes Andover, Ham Lake and a portion of Coon Rapids.

Anoka County Commissioner District 2 includes all of Ham Lake and East Bethel, plus parts of Andover and Oak Grove and three precincts in northern Blaine.