By Shawn Williams
State Representative Eric Johnson hasn’t wasted any time since filling the vacant seat in Texas House District 100. Johnson has already converted his campaign office in the basement at Southside on Lamar into his District Office. Juan Ayala has been named as Johnson’s Chief of Staff and will be running things in Austin while Brandalyn Rodgers is the District Manager here in Dallas.
Staffers Julia Quinones and Brent Rubin prepare for meeting with Johnson in the District Office
Johnson has started work with the two committees on which he serves,the House Corrections Committee and the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee. Late last month he traveled to the Houston area where the Corrections committee held a public hearing. “Most meetings are held in Austin,” Johnson said, “this was a field trip of sorts.”
Representatives heard about ex-offender reentry programs in the state and looked at efforts that have been successful with job placement. His short time on the committee has been eye opening. “I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how engaged the members are, both Republicans and Democrats,” Johnson said.
State Rep. Eric Johnson
Johnson said the committee is focused on keeping people who don’ t need to be in prison out of the system. “Texas is doing a good job in that area,” he said, “there seems to be bipartisan support.” Johnson also traveled to Galveston to visit a Texas Department of Criminal Justice medical facility. He toured the Reid Community Corrections Center as well.
Johnson is making his rounds locally too. Also in June, he visited the privately run Dawson State Prison Unit. Rev. Ronald Wright and Rev. Peter Johnson voiced concerns about the unit lacking proper air conditioning. Rep. Johnson’s staff called the warden and Johnson made the trip over to the prison on Commerce Street.
Very few Texas prisons have air conditioning. But the concern over Dawson stems from the fact that this particular unit is a high rise, which presents different challenges than most Texas facilities. On a tour, an assistant warden told Johnson and his group that the unit has had major problems with the air conditioning each summer since 1998.
Johnson wrote a letter to Corrections Committee Chairman Rep. Jim McReynolds of Lufkin regarding his visit. He mentioned how concerned he was about the annual problem regarding Dawson’s a/c units, but elaborated on why he feels it should be addressed. “I am particularly disturbed at the waste of taxpayer funds incurred as a result of the annual problems with the air conditioning system,” Johnson writes, “and the expenses associated with temporary solutions that do not fix the long term issue.”
For now, you can often find Representative Johnson chatting with residents in the hallways, outside the building, or downstairs in the coffee shop. But it won’t be long before Johnson will be spending more and more time in Austin. So far he’s shown a willingness to listen to his constituents, and is the willingness to work the proper channels to try to get things done. That’s good news from District 10o.
/