Bruce Johnson

Bruce Edward Johnson (born May 25, 1960) is an American lawyer and Republican politician who was appointed the State of Ohio's 63rd lieutenant governor on January 5, 2005, to complete an unexpired term. Johnson concurrently served as Director of the Ohio Department of Development. Johnson entered politics in Columbus, becoming Greg Lashutka's chief of staff after he managed Lashutka's successful 1991 campaign for mayor of Columbus. Johnson left that post when he was appointed to the Ohio Senate in 1994. After being elected to two terms and rising to the second highest post in the Senate, in 2001, Governor Bob Taft asked Johnson to join his cabinet as Director of the Ohio Department of Development. In 2005, Taft appointed him lieutenant governor. In December 2006, Johnson resigned a month before his term ended. Background Johnson graduated from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio with a bachelor of arts degree in economics before attending law school at Capital University in Columbus where he received his Juris Doctor degree in 1985. While at Bowling Green, he became a member of Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity. He was admitted to the Ohio bar on November 4, 1985. After a year as an assistant city prosecutor in Columbus, he joined the firm of Chester, Willcox, and Saxbe in Columbus working there until 2001. In 1991, Johnson was the campaign manager for Greg Lashutka's successful mayoral run in Columbus and became his chief of staff when Lashutka was sworn in. Johnson served in City Hall from 1992 to 1994. During this time, he helped abolish the city's Human Services Department and reorganize the city's operations.