Economic growth at front of Gary Johnson’s plans for City Council

Oct. 01--Seventh in a series on Toledo City Council candidates.

Gary Johnson spent three decades successfully running and growing his own businesses, and he believes Toledo could benefit from his prowess.

Mr. Johnson, 63, is one of 12 candidates on the ballot for six Toledo City Council seats. He sees major opportunities for economic development, and points to that vision as his top reason for jumping in the race.

"As I went to people's houses and told them I thought small businesses would be a key to growth and economic prosperity, what they liked about it is those small businesses would hire local people," Mr. Johnson said. "Not only would they be paying taxes, but their employees pay taxes to the city, and we'd have a larger tax base to work on things like roads, reduction in crime, and continuing to address the situation with the water."

Previous City Council profiles: Rob Ludeman --Cecelia Adams --Alfonso Narvaez --Clyde Phillips, Jr. --Sandy Spang --Larry Sykes

The endorsed Democrat and former Lucas County Board of Elections member owned four Marco's Pizza franchises in the 1980s. He got into the insurance business when his two children were born.

Once they had grown, he began searching for something in the Toledo area when he ran across a flooring franchise. He later founded American Floors & Interiors, now located in East Toledo, in 2005.

In 2014, Fortune magazine named the firm the 11th-fastest growing inner city business in the country, reporting a three-year growth rate of 567 percent.

"I don't know of any of the other candidates running who really see the opportunity the way I do," Mr. Johnson said. "I think I have a unique experience in being able to grow my business over a thousand percent since I opened it up. I understand what it takes to do that and I understand what type of businesses would help."

Mr. Johnson has already thought about companies to do business with, including Dana and ProMedica. He said asking large companies which smaller firms they conduct business with could be beneficial to Toledo.

"If we can bring some small startup companies in, that gives them an opportunity to hire young kids coming out of college," Mr. Johnson said. "It would also help us keep our money local. If a person gets paid in Toledo, then they go out to eat in Toledo, then that person at the restaurant has to buy supplies from people in Toledo, there's a multiplying factor that happens with dollars staying local."

Crime is one of the candidate's biggest concerns. Mr. Johnson has been on the Lucas County sheriff's reserves for 30 years and has witnessed the rise of the drug epidemic.

Mr. Johnson is a fan of the Drug Abuse Response Team -- an addiction resource unit -- run by the sheriff's department.

"It's one of the plans I think is working," he said. "As a councilman, I would urge the mayor to put more resources into that program. We have to look at ways to continue to reduce the amount of crime that takes place as a result of cheap drugs on the street."

Mr. Johnson is also keeping a close eye on Lake Erie, and applauded Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson's decision to declare it an impaired watershed.

"We talk about it and it's safe right now, but I think people are still really skeptical that it'll stay that way," he said. "Unfortunately, perception is reality. So it's something you have to keep on the forefront and make sure people know we're doing everything we can to keep the lake cleaned up."

Mr. Johnson lived in Toledo for four years in the 80s before moving to Sylvania. He relocated back to Toledo in 2015, and recently purchased a home with his wife, Maureen, at 2540 Middlesex Drive.

He graduated from John Marshall High School in Cleveland before earning a degree from the University of Toledo. He currently serves on the Eberly Center board at the college, as well as the Toledo Zoo Foundation board. He has also served on several diversity and inclusion boards.

Mr. Johnson finished sixth in the primary, and said he's focusing on making as many public appearances as possible before the election. The general election takes place Nov. 7.

Contact Jay Skebba at jskebba@theblade.com, 419-376-9414, or on Twitter @JaySkebbaBlade.

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