Johnson had a 43-year newspaper career, with 41 of them spent in Tallahassee. During that time he worked for both the Tallahassee Democrat and the AP Capitol Bureau and became known as an expert on government, a champion for conservative individualism and an advocate of conservation.
Because his column, “I Declare,” was carried by 25 Florida newspapers, his community, not just Tallahassee, was the state.
Keeping the capitol in Tallahassee and building a new one were among the goals that he helped draft and bring about. He was an early leader in the Florida press battle for Government in the Sunshine. He led the fight for Constitutional Revision and favored reapportionment several times.
