Fall 2020 - 1736 Magazine

with tracts occupied by everything from mansions and
mobile homes to office towers and chemical plants.
In Johnson’s viewpoint, the district also is the city’s
most vital region.
“It is the most important district in the city for
the simple fact that downtown is here,” he said.
“Downtown is the heartbeat of this city, and all of the
other areas are, in my opinion, the veins. Whatever happens
in downtown pumps the blood out to the rest of the
city. And a great majority of the city’s economic drivers
— the tax base — are in District 1.”
Although the Augusta Commission is a non-partisan
body, Johnson’s past and present political activities
clearly align him with the Democratic Party, which
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