By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Political Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com

Villareal “VJ” Johnson plans to keep community voices at the forefront if elected to the D.C. council member for Ward 7. Johnson is a D.C. native who found his way to community service and hasn’t stopped since. 

Johnson has been engaging in Ward 7 for about 20 years.

“I have been steady with pushing the agenda for improving the lives of Ward 7 residents,” said Johnson. “I am carrying the work forward.”

Throughout the years, he has served as an advisory neighborhood commissioner (ANC), a non-partisan body made up of locally elected representatives spread across each ward and worked with the D.C. Council among many other positions throughout the city and ward. 

Johnson said he knows what has been done and what needs to be done. 

If elected, Johnson plans to keep community voices at the center of his work by implementing regular town halls and community forums and using digital platforms for greater accessibility and opportunities for feedback. 

Johnson said he knows the community voice and knows how to extract it. Even before he began running for a D.C. Council seat, he was meeting residents where they were to make change.

“Basically, you do it in small groups–community by community,” said Johnson. “We have chat and chews–couch conversations in neighbors’ homes where 10 -15 people show up– and we talk about the issues.”

He also plans to create community advisory boards and include youth organizations and schools in discussions about Ward 7’s future.

Johnson’s platform also includes public safety, education, economic development, housing and health. 

“People know I’m invested,” said Johnson. 

A few community members agree with this sentiment.

“I have known Mr. Villareal Johnson for at least 20 years. We worked together on a number of civic projects in the ward,” said Carrie Thornhill of the Hillcrest community in Ward 7. “ He’s very smart, engaging dedicated to the interests of this Ward.”

“Villareal is very knowledgeable on how this city and the community works, and I think that sets him apart from some of the other candidates,” said Thornhill.

Edmund Fleet of the Hillcrest community of Ward 7 said Johnson helped revive his engagement with the community’s civic activities.

“I’ve been neglectful the last couple of years being involved with the  Hillcrest Community Civic Association and he re-engaged me,” said Fleet. “The thing that resonated with me was the college scholarship program that he has helped bolster in terms of giving out more financial dollars to our young people that live within Hillcrest to give them an opportunity to go to college.”

“He made the community more aware of it and has got more people to donate to it, thereby increasing the amount of scholarship dollars we’ve been giving away,” continued Fleet.

The D.C. primary is June 4, and the general election is Nov. 5. Johnson is competing against Ebbon Allen, Eboni-Rose Thompson, Kelvin Brown, Ebony Payne and Wendell Felder. The incumbent, Vincent Gray (D-D.C.-Ward 7), will not run for re-election leaving a noticeable opening for those interested in serving at the council level. 

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