Jalen Johnson has announced his candidacy for Ward 2 of the City Commission in Albany, Georgia. Johnson, 22, is a first-generation college student and Albany native. He is a proud alumnus of Dougherty High School, where he served as drum major of the band during his senior year.

A son to a single mother, Jalen understands both the despair of adversity and the joy of overcoming circumstances of birth. “I don’t believe in the 'big bad man.' I believe that no one can control your destiny but yourself," he said. "It essentially comes down to personal responsibility and you making the right decisions for your own life.”

By the time he was 21, Johnson had surmounted his challenging circumstances to intern for several members of Congress in Washington D.C., eventually serving as a legislative aide to Congressman Byron Donalds (FL-19). Johnson currently serves as the Director of Grassroots Advocacy for the Georgia Charter SchoolsAssociation, where he pays it forward by helping other students achieve their goals, regardless of the obstacles they face in their lives.

As the grandson a police officer and a young black man in America today, Johnson uniquely understands how to address the challenging issues surrounding criminal justice reform, while also fighting to preserve peace in the streets of Albany. “Our community needs more police officers, not less. We are facing skyrocketing levels of crime, and this does not incentivize businesses to come to our city," Johnson said. “I refuse to sit idly by while watching our city get run down with violence. It’s time for new ideas and new voices to clean up our city.”

In addition to promoting public safety, Johnson's platform to revitalize Albany centers on two additional target areas where he sees potential for growth: economic development
and common-sense infrastructure for a city abandoned by its leaders.

“Without solid infrastructure, workplaces crumble, low office morale means jobs are transported to other regions, and the resultant poverty leads to rising crime rates. With these three pillars of revitalization, I will fight to make Albany a safer, more prosperous, and greater city for future generations than ever before."

For more information, please visit our website; JalenJJohnson.com.