About Jeff Johnson

Education

Jeff was born in Cleveland, Ohio and attended the Cleveland Public Schools at Collinwood High School where he played three varsity sports. After graduating he attended John Carroll University briefly, and later transferred to Kent State University, graduating in 1980 with honors in Telecommunications. Jeff played one season of football with John Carroll, and two years for the Kent State football team. He was later elected by his peers as President of the Kent State Black Student Union, and Homecoming King. He was a writer for the school’s newspaper, the Daily Kent Stater where he wrote a bi-weekly column called “The Black Perspective,” covering the many issues of campus life experienced by the school’s Black students. He also worked as a Resident Staff Advisor. Following graduation Jeff accepted a fellowship to study City Planning and Development from Cornell University for a semester before attending law school at Case Western Reserve University. He graduated in 1984 with his law and Master’s degree (Political Science). During his time at CWRU he was active in student affairs and was elected by his peers as Senator of his law class.

Professional
In 1981, Jeff was hired and trained in dispute resolution as a counselor and Mediator in the Cleveland Prosecutor’s office handling neighborhood disputes. The same year he joined the Glenville area Ward 8 Club and began volunteering within the community with then Councilman Michael R. White. He assisted in food basket give-away programs for the poor and elderly, was the editor of the Ward 8 newspaper, and directed the annual community parade. Jeff was a volunteer community organizer assisting Councilman White in his efforts to respond to the major issues impacting the area residents.

In 1984, Jeff was appointed as Councilman for Ward 8 as White was appointed to the Ohio State Senate. He was then elected as the Ward 8 Councilman 90 days later and re-elected two times in 1985 and 1989. Jeff served over 5 years in Cleveland City Council, and was co-sponsor of the city’s first Fair Housing law and led the successful effort to establish Cleveland’s Sex Crime and Child Abuse Investigative Unit in the Cleveland Police Department.  During his tenure, the Ward 8 area received new economic and housing development projects including the Glenville Plaza, Eastside Market and Abyssinia Towers, a senior citizen apartment complex. He was recognized and honored for his public service by local community groups.

In December of 1989, Jeff was appointed to the Ohio State Senate following Senator White’s election as Mayor of Cleveland. He was elected to the position in the fall of 1990 and re-elected in 1994. During the 9 years he served in the Ohio Senate, Jeff sponsored a law creating the Ohio Infant Health Commission, and co-sponsored diverse legislation covering major issues including workplace discrimination, education reform, economic development, criminal justice reform and more. He led the successful fight to keep Central State University open in 1997 while serving as President of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus (OLBC). Jeff served on many special commissions and committees including the Ohio Sentencing Commission, the state Correctional Institution Inspection Committee, Ohio Minority Health Commission, and more. He has received many awards and recognition for his leadership including Legislator of the Year.

In 1998, Jeff was convicted of campaign fundraising related violations and sentenced to 15 months in prison. After serving 9 months, he completed a 4 month halfway house program. Jeff returned to Cleveland City Hall in 2002 when he was hired as an assistant to then Mayor Jane Campbell. He was promoted to the Mayor’s Cabinet a year later as Director of the Department of Community Relations. During his years as Director, Jeff was responsible for overseeing the city’s police and community outreach initiative, mediation of neighborhood disputes, and implementation of the city’s Fair Housing program.  He was recognized by community groups for his outstanding leadership.
In 2006, Jeff founded his community and political affairs consultant firm, Prime Strategy Group, LLC , and was selected to be the Ohio Field Director for the Barbara Sykes for State Auditor campaign. He coordinated campaign field operations in the state’s 88 counties.

In 2007, Jeff became the Executive Director of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus where he was responsible for overseeing the organization’s public policy agenda and its political action committee projects. He also directed the OLBC Foundation, a non-profit group focused on public policy development and community outreach. Today, Jeff is involved full time with his consulting firm.

Honors
Jeff is the recipient of numerous awards and honors during his over 25 years in public service. The Oho Democratic Party, Ohio Bar Association and the Ohio Trial Lawyers Association all honored him as Ohio Legislator of the Year. The National Black Caucus of State Legislators recognized Jeff with the Eagle Award for Outstanding Legislator. He received Outstanding Service awards for his leadership as President of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus, and as Director of the Cleveland Department of Community Relations. The Call and Post Newspaper Foundation also recognized Jeff as among Northeast Ohio’s Most Influential, and he received the Foundation’s prestigious W.O. Walker Award for Community Excellence in 2008. Jeff was also inducted into the Collinwood High School Hall of Fame and received the Alumni Community Service Award from Kent State University. He previously was recognized by Ebony magazine as one of the nation’s 30 Leaders of the Future.