Benjamin R. Johnson of 308 Knollwood Ave. is seeking political office for the first time as a Salisbury City Council candidate.
Johnson is a senior programmer/analyst for TIMCO Aviation at the GSO airport in Greensboro.
“I am running for office because we are in the midst of a flood of government,” Johnson said in a statement. “Government is overflowing not only the safeguards developed at the founding of this country, but also its natural role in the ordering of a free society.
“When government overflows its banks, it is the liberties of the people that are washed away.”
Johnson said he is an active member of the Rowan County Republican Party, including the Men’s Club and Executive Committee. He is vice chairman of his precinct with the Republican Party.
“As for priorities, I would like to see Salisbury exemplify what a society dedicated to personal freedom can achieve,” he said.
“It should be a city that raises revenue through an equitable free-market climate, not forced annexation or higher taxes. It should be a place where all citizens are equally welcome, but not a place of special favors for one group over another.
“Our vision of the future should be tempered with restraint so that we do not feast today, leaving the bill for our children.”
Johnson said he attended public school in kindergarten through the sixth grade. He was then home-schooled by his parents while his family served as urban missionaries in Brooklyn, N.Y.
He received a bachelor’s degree in computer science, with a math minor, from St. John’s University in New York.
Johnson is currently the worship leader at Eternity Church in Salisbury.
He is a former elder on the board of King’s Chapel Assembly of God in Springfield, Mo.
He and his wife, Jessica, performed music outdoors at the recent Salisbury “Krazy Night Out.”
The couple have two children, Caleb (2 years) and Joshua (7 months).
Johnson said his Web site will be online soon at www.voteben.org.
The filing period for the Nov. 3 council election has closed.
The 13 candidates for five City Council seats are Johnson, Charles Black, Maggie Blackwell, Carl Dangerfield, Blake Jarman, William “Pete” Kennedy, Susan Kluttz, Mark Lewis, Brian Miller, William Peoples, Wes Thompson, Paul Woodson and Michael Young.