Faces in the Crowd: James “Jimmy” Johnson

Jimmy Johnson, the son of George and Bonnie Johnson, grew up in much the same way many locals do:
Living in town, riding bikes with friends, and hanging out at the local basketball court.
He’d listen to some of his dad’s stories, and quickly because interested in history and politics.
He eventually took that interest and turned it into a career.
These days, Jimmy works as a member services advisor for the Republican House Caucus in Lansing. He’s spent much of the last five years working with State Speaker of the House Jason Wentworth, and he now helps a number of house members meet their constituents’ needs.
And he loves it. He’s passionate about it. While politics can often get dirty, Jimmy feels like – at the state and local level – real positive change can happen and be seen.
We caught up with Jimmy where we learned a little more about his life, his family, and his job. We learned that Jimmy Johnson is more than just another face in the crowd.
Marion Press: Where were you born and raised?
Jimmy: I was born in Lansing, and then lived in Mason, Michigan up until I was about two and half, three years old. At that point, that’s when we moved into Marion.
We had an old farmhouse in the country in Mason, and then Dad decided that he wanted to live in a really small community – kind of like his old hometown of Omer. So, he just drove up north one day and gave my mom a call, and said, “I found a house.” Next thing you know, we’re in Marion.
MP: Your dad had kind of a special bond with the city of Omer. What’s the story behind that?
Jimmy: Yeah, in his younger days, he was the mayor of Omer. So at that time, it was just like a little Hamlet more or less, and it’s Michigan’s smallest city right now. So when he became the mayor – just like how he was with the Old Fashioned Days parade when he ran it – his whole big thing was [that] he just wanted to promote his hometown, promote his community.
So he came up with all sorts of different things: During the Iran hostage crisis, him and the whole city were sending letters to the president. And he was offering [solutions] like, “You know, we have a really nice cabin here in Omer, maybe you and the supreme leader can sit down in the quiet of Omer and solve the world’s issues!”
He had lobbied his state representative and a state senator to pass some sort of resolution, in the chambers, to declare Omer, Michigan as Michigan’s smallest city. So, anytime now, if you are going in or out of Omer, there is this sign: Michigan’s Smallest City.
MP: What kept you busy growing up?
Jimmy: Honestly, it was sports. Me, and Kevin Sisson, Jared Brown, Jared Frederick… we were all pretty much connected at the hip growing up. Kevin and I were both water boys for the basketball team; we were always hopped up to do that. That was the best part about growing up in Marion: two of my best friends, right down the street. So as soon as 10 a.m. would hit, we’d all get together. That’s when our parents would agree: we were allowed to start playing at that point. We’d all meet up, and head down to either the elementary school, or we’d head down to the park. We’d try and get as many kids as we could, and we’d just play basketball – All. Day. Long.
MP: That’s kind of the story for a lot of kids growing up in [that] generation.
Jimmy: Absolutely. The interesting part about our generation – the ‘90s babies and late ‘80s babies – we’re right at that cusp, where we remember that you had to rewind your VHS tapes to return them or else you were gonna get a ticket. And we remember when internet first came out. So we were right at that happy medium, where we were almost like ‘80s babies where you were playing outside, but as you got into your teens, all of a sudden everybody’s like, “Oh wait. There’s video games?”
MP: What are some of your favorite memories of Marion?
Jimmy: Oh, man. I mean, honestly, there are so many to count to be completely honest: It was playing basketball with the guys, but, you know, I think this is something that makes Marion such a unique place. It’s kind of like that saying: “Times change, but some things stay the same.” And that’s kind of the thing that I really enjoyed the most about Marion, that maybe I didn’t enjoy as much when I was growing up. There was a lady, Mrs. Crowe, and she lives next to Jarod Brown’s house. And so growing up, she always had a little yorkie. Me and the guys would be riding our bikes around, and we could stop by there and play with her dogs. People were always looking out for us: wherever we went, everybody’s like, “Oh, there goes Jimmy, Jared, Jared, and Kevin.”
MP: Growing up in the Johnson family, around Marion, a lot of people probably remember your dad [George] and grandpa [Harold a/k/a Smiley] as being pretty cool characters.
Jimmy: Honestly, it was kind of a different upbringing. I mean, I would say compared to some of my other friends, because growing up, I had a dad that was quite a bit older… But I see that as: he gave me a different perspective on life. He was in Germany shortly after World War II, and he always spoke about that experience. So that kind of sparked my interest in history. With my grandpa, he was just, you know, he was pretty much a case study on being kind. That was something that I always have tried to emulate, though maybe not as well.
Between him and my dad, they really taught me a lot. My dad, he was a promoter. So I could have a horrible basketball game, and he could pick five to six really good things that I did that I completely forgot about. He could be my worst critic at the same time, and he kind of taught me in a way: You always want to get better, you want to be happy with what you’re able to achieve, but you should never be complacent – because once you become complacent, that’s when you start to get kind of lackadaisical, and you do want to improve upon yourself anymore. And so, that’s been something that I’ve tried to internalize.
[My dad] used to be a big garage sailor, and me and [brother] Mark were really competitive with one another.
So he took to garage sales and would buy some trophies, and then he would rip off what it said on there, and then he’s like, “All right, boys. I want you to go out there going to play the best-of-seven games; whoever wins the series, you get this trophy!” And man, it would get wild out there. And so we went back and forth: Mark used to consistently beat me, but then I grew about a foot between 7th and 9th grade, and it got to be pretty competitive.
MP: So you’ve been involved in politics for about the last 6 years. What does your current job entail?
Jimmy: I’m a Member Services Advisor. So, basically what that is, I work specifically for the Republican caucus in the House of Representatives. Essentially what happens, is they assign me to about eight or nine different members, and so my job is to try to be an expert on their area. Reading the news, watching out for press releases; if anything happens in the district office that the representative should be aware of. My other job is pretty much just to let them know the services that the house caucus provides.
MP: Politics can be pretty cutthroat, but at the end of the day, you’re really there to help people. That’s the point, right? To make other people’s lives better?
Jimmy: Absolutely. And that’s the thing with state politics. It’s very personal in a sense: we all drive on the same roads, our kids all go to the same schools. Everything is interconnected. And on the state level, change can take place. You’re not waiting for Washington to fix something.
MP: What is what’s the best advice that you’ve ever been given?
Jimmy: It would have to come from my dad, and it was kind of funny. He would say, “Use your common horse sense.” And so that would mean a variation of things, which means, essentially, it would be “use your common sense when you’re making different decisions. And never be complacent and never sell yourself short, because anytime you get complacent, then you’re not pushing forward to better yourself.”