Eric Johnson, a Savannah Republican, was first elected to the Senate from the Savannah area's 1st District in 1994.

Johnson is the Senate Minority Leader. He is a member of the Appropriations, Finance and Public Utilities, Rules and Transportation committees.

Prior to his election to the state Senate, Johnson served one term in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1993-94. He was regional director for former U.S. Senator Mack Mattingly from 1981-83.

While serving in the House, Johnson successfully passed legislation to require local governments to periodically renegotiate a fair distribution of the local option sales tax.

His accomplishments in education reform include requiring that local school systems be notified when a juvenile felon is released back into the community. Johnson also increased the penalties for child abuse to make it a felony to seriously injure a child. And he has required the Board of Pardons and Parole to establish a system where citizens can obtain a list of parolees living in their neighborhood.

Born August 20, 1953 in New Orleans, Johnson earned a degree in architecture from Tulane University. He is currently an architect with the firm of Hussey, Gay, Bell and DeYoung International.

Active in professional and community affairs, Johnson is an alumni of Leadership Savannah and a member of the American Institute of Architects. Georgia Trend Magazine recently named Johnson to their "100 Most Influential Georgians" list.

Johnson and his wife, Kathryn, are the parents of two children -- Marcus and Righton. They are members of Savannah Christian Church.

The 1st Senatorial District which Johnson represents includes portions of Chatham and Bryan Counties.

December 1999