Pete Johnson Announces He Will Run For Minnesota Legislature From Duluth

The Duluth firefighter said Monday he will run for Liz Olson's House 8A seat following her announcement last week that she will not run for re-election.

Pete Johnson, a Duluth firefighter, announced he is running for the seat left open by Representative Liz Olson. Olson represents central and western Duluth in District 8A.

Johnson says he has been thinking about running for office for a long time and he knows that campaigning is always a family affair. He says his wife and kids are supportive and excited about his decision.

Johnson says all of the positions he has held historically fit together to make him prepared to be a state representative. In addition to firefighter, Johnson has served as vice president with the local and state firefighter’s labor union and was a city housing board member.

He says these roles gave him the chance to advocate and provide a voice for people who didn’t have one. He said his campaign will focus on access to health care, housing and jobs.

Johnson is a proponent of a single payer health system. He says he will directly confront housing and jobs challenges, which he says are critical to resolve in the district.

“We fight for our staffing levels so that we have enough firefighters to respond,” Johnson said.

“It’s fighting for patient care ratios. It’s teachers fighting for class sizes. It’s folks from the building trades fighting for project labor groups so that every worker on that job site is guaranteed those wages and benefits. So, it’s good jobs that are stable and provide a living,” said Johnson.

Johnson said supporting people is why he is so motivated to serve. He said he wants to build relationships with those in the district who have a wide range of perspectives.

“We’re not always going to agree on every single thing. But it’s about creating relationships with a broad and diverse group of people so that everybody has an opportunity from the district to have their voice heard. I hope to be the person who can do that,” Johnson said.

He said that an official campaign launch event will be planned soon.