Unsung Hero:
Phil Johnson
Works long hours to ensure Newton County has ‘good elections’ By TOM SPIGOLON tspigolon@covnews.com
A lofty salary was not prompting Phil Johnson to dedicate most of his waking hours at times in 2020 to making sure Newton County elections ran smoothly. However, he said he had “no idea how challenging it would be” when asked in 2019 to serve as chairman of the Newton County Board of Elections. “When you take a job, you make a commitment,” Johnson said. “I think elections are the bedrock on which government operates.” The challenge — other than safety and health concerns every organization faced with a then-unknown virus in 2020 — included Newton County voters casting up to five times the usual number of absentee ballots because of safety concerns around COVID-19. It also included working past midnight and coming back the following morning to complete the counting of absentee ballots in the June primary elections. Johnson, who receives about $100 per monthly THE COVINGTON NEWS
meeting, was among those counting the mailed-in ballots that required far more time to verify than those cast by machine. However, through four elections, two recounts and voters sometimes having to endure long lines to cast ballots, Johnson said his goal was always “to get it right and secure.” “I do feel we held a good election in Newton County,” he said. Johnson has been a practicing attorney in Newton County for more than 44 years with a law practice that concentrates on commercial real estate, business law and estate matters. He also formerly was heavily involved in banking and commercial and residential development in Newton County. Johnson earned his undergraduate degree from Georgia State University and his law degree from the University of Georgia Law School. Then, soon after he finished law school, he won election to a seat in the Georgia House of Representatives in 1976 and served two terms before being succeeded by Denny Dobbs. At the local level, he ran for chairman of the VISIONS 63
