BUFFALO, N.Y. — Erie County Legislator Howard Johnson has abruptly resigned from his post in county government to take a job with the Erie County Board of Elections.
Johnson has accepted the job of Deputy Commissioner for the Democratic party according to Commissioner Jeremy Zellner.
"I know Howard shares my commitment to setting the highest standards of integrity on behalf of Erie County’s 624,000 voters, and I look forward to working closely with him," Zellner said in a written statement shared with 2 On Your Side.
Johnson will fill the role of Arthur O. Eve Jr. who is taking a step back, Zellner added.
Legislator Johnson has served Erie County's 1st District since April 2019 and was originally selected to fill a vacancy left by then-Legislator Barbara Miller-Williams, who resigned to become the City of Buffalo Comptroller.
Johnson would go on to win the seat in three elections, the most recent of which was held on November 7, 2023.
Before assuming elected office, Legislator Johnson worked in private banking at M&T Bank and HSBC Bank. He served ten years in the Army National Guard as noted in a news release marking his swearing-in.
In addition, he served as a management consultant in the Erie County Division of Budget and Management.
Johnson's departure temporarily creates a six-Democrat, four-Republican split in the county legislature; down from 7-4.
Zellner, who is also the Erie County Democratic Committee Chair, added that the next step is for Democratic committee members in the 1st district to recommend a successor.
The district covers the core of downtown Buffalo, as well as the East and Lower West Sides.
Whoever is chosen will then be voted on by the ECDC Executive Committee to assume the role and be placed on the November ballot, just like Johnson was a little over five years ago.
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