Rob Johnson (Seattle politician)

For other people named Rob Johnson, see Rob Johnson (disambiguation).

Robert M. Johnson is an American politician. He served on the Seattle City Council representing the fourth district, covering northeast Seattle and the area around the University of Washington, from 2016 until his resignation in April 2019.^[2]

Rob Johnson
Member of the Seattle City Council from District 4
In office January 4, 2016 – April 5, 2019
Preceded by	Jean Godden
Succeeded by	Abel Pacheco Jr.
Personal details
Born	1977 or 1978 (age 46–47)[1]
Spouse	Katie
Children	3
Residence	Seattle, Washington
Education	Willamette University (BA) University of California, Los Angeles (MURP)
Occupation	Politician

In 2015, Johnson was elected to the city council after defeating Michael Maddux by a 708-vote margin in the nonpartisan general election.^[3] Johnson and Maddux had previously defeated 12-year incumbent Jean Godden in the August primary election. Both Johnson and Maddux ran as progressive urbanists (favoring denser city planning rather than urban or suburban sprawl^[4]), defeating slow-growth candidates Godden and Tony Provine. Prior to the election, Johnson was executive director of Transportation Choices Coalition, an advocacy group in Washington state, where he managed their campaign for the Sound Transit 2 rail expansion programs.^[5] Johnson was sworn into office on January 4, 2016.^[6] Several days later, he was appointed to the Sound Transit board of directors by King County Executive Dow Constantine, replacing fellow councilmember Mike O'Brien.^[7] He stated that he would work to make Seattle more affordable, and to implement more transportation and education options.^[8] In November 2018, he announced he would not seek a second city council term.^[9] Shortly after the announcement, he was offered a position as transportation adviser to the NHL Seattle project.^[10]

In late March 2019, Johnson announced he would vacate his council seat on April 5, 2019. After his resignation, an interim council member was appointed to take Johnson's place until the November 2019 election.^[11]

Johnson's family has lived in Seattle for five generations. He lives in the Ravenna neighborhood with his wife, Katie, and their three daughters.^[9][12]

Electoral history

Seattle City Council District 4, Primary Election 2015^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Rob Johnson	5,516	32.84%
	Nonpartisan	Michael Maddux	4,138	24.64%
	Nonpartisan	Jean Godden	3,307	19.69%
	Nonpartisan	Tony Provine	2,372	14.12%
	Nonpartisan	Abel Pacheco	1,416	8.43%
	Nonpartisan	Write-in	46	0.27%
Turnout			17,154	31.64%
Registered electors			54,208

Seattle City Council District 4, General Election 2015^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Rob Johnson	11,808	51.30%
	Nonpartisan	Michael Maddux	11,100	48.22%
	Nonpartisan	Write-in	111	0.48%
Majority			708	3.08%
Turnout			25,782	46.61%
Registered electors			55,309