Mayor Joe Johnson Re-Elected State Municipal League President
Joe Johnson, Mayor of Eufaula, was elected president of the Oklahoma Municipal League during the business meeting of September 25, at its annual conference in Tulsa. He was elected to the Board, which has 380 cities and towns as members, in 1984 to represent OML District 2. Johnson was the first president to serve two consecutive terms since the league’s creation, 74 years ago.
When elected mayor of Eufaula in 1975, Johnson was, at the age of 24, the youngest mayor in the state. He has since been elected three times to this mayor/manager position. He holds an associate degree in journalism and art from Eastern Oklahoma State College and has furthered his education at the University of Oklahoma. During his junior year at OU, he assisted a friend who was running for the Oklahoma House of Representatives by serving as editor of the friend’s newspaper, the Hartshorne Sun. After the election, Johnson went to work for the Indian Journal in Eufaula, where he reported on council meetings and other city business.
“When I attended the council meetings, I was impressed with the problems that were facing my community and decided I wanted to be involved in finding solutions,” Johnson said. “So, that’s when I decided to run for mayor and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since.” No one can accuse Johnson of not doing anything to help his community. During the time he has served as mayor, the City of Eufaula has completed construction of the hospital, built a new water plant, sewer plant, library, doctors clinic, water tower, fire station, recreational center and new city hall, to name a few. In addition, the city has renovated some 400 homes for the elderly and reworked the water and sewer system.
As President of the Oklahoma Municipal League Board, he intends to do for cities and towns in the state what he has done for Eufaula.
