Local activist dies in Ukiah
ukiahdailyjournal.com | Mar 16th 2011 11:59 AM
Richard Walsh Johnson Jr., an irascible but tireless voice for justice and the
environment, died Wednesday in Ukiah. Johnson, a longtime local newspaper
publisher, died of congestive heart failure. He was 66.
Despite years of declining health, Johnson managed to get out four local
newspapers a month: "The Mendocino Country Independent," "El Sol," a Spanish
language newspaper; "Vistas" entertainment magazine, and "Confluence" since
1973. A committee of Johnson's friends is working to continue his newspapers
for the community.
In addition to the four newspapers, Johnson hosted an environmental radio show
on KMEC and frequently went before the Board of Supervisors to lobby for
environmental concerns. Johnson was one of the founders of the "Alianza Para
Derechos Humanos," "Alliance for Human Rights," a podium for local Spanish
speakers. Through his newspapers, he trained scores of people in writing and in
the use of computers.
Johnson spent almost all his time involved in the local community. He worked
with the Mendocino Green Party and the campaign to save Headwaters Forest. He
was an avid organic gardener and supported marijuana legalization. Johnson was
the main author of Measure G - the personal use of marijuana initiative.
In gathering petitions for Measure G, Johnson went up against the local
Wal-Mart - which tried to block him from gathering signatures outside of the
Ukiah store. Johnson went to jail for that, inspiring others to take up the
cause and
they finally won a lawsuit against Wal-Mart - maintaining people's rights to
that public access.
Johnson has held a seat on the Green Party's County Council since its inception
in 1996 and worked hard to build a viable local third party. Besides his
marijuana legalization efforts, and work on behalf of the local Latino
community, Johnson's newspapers carried articles he authored on environmental
subjects including federal offshore lease sales for oil exploration and
recently petitions against the U.S. Navy's' training exercises in the Pacific
Ocean.
Johnson originated the use of a database of voters known as the Voters Union to
support progressive candidates and causes in local elections. He also made use
of the judicial system in the protection of what he perceived as violations of
civil liberties.
"I'll always remember Richard as a gifted writer who could employ irony with
the best," said Mendocino County Supervisor and Green Party peer Dan Hamburg.
"He was a hard-driving activist and organizer, never satisfied with cursory
research or imprecise analysis. Richard and I only agreed on about 98 percent
of issues, and I was likely wrong on the 2 percent about which we had
differences.
" Richard reminds me of the radical journalist Jean-Paul Marat, an impassioned
defender of the French Revolution, champion of the poor and dispossessed,"
Hamburg continued. " I think of the song about Marat popularized by folksinger
Judy Collins, Poor old Marat, in you we trust, you work till your eyes turn as
red as rust!' That was Richard to me."
Johnson graduated with honors from Saint John's Prep school in Massachusetts
and received an electrical engineering degree from Northeastern
University. While in a student work program there, he developed a technique
that dramatically improved the quality of silicon wafers.
During the Vietnam war era, Johnson joined Students for a Democratic Society
and organized anti-war protests. In the 1970s, he moved to Davis, Calif., where
he worked to publicize the cause of the United Farmworkers.
But people in Mendocino County, his home for two decades, will remember Johnson
for his stubborn personality and relentless work for social justice and the
environment.
He was born in Salem, Mass. on Sept. 17, 1944. He is survived by his brother,
William Norton Johnson, who lives in the Bay Area.
A memorial celebration of Richard Johnson's life is planned for 1 p.m. Sunday,
April 17 at the Saturday Afternoon Club in Ukiah.
Donations for funeral and other expenses can be made to "Mendocino Country" and
mailed to P.O. Box 533, Talmage, 95481.
Original Page: http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_17633001
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