Wallace J.S. Johnson


Wallace J.S. Johnson was Mayor of Berkeley, California. A moderate Republican and the last of his party to hold the office, he served two terms from 1963 to 1971 during the most politically turbulent time in Berkeley's history. Johnson was an engineer by training, a graduate of Caltech. He held several patents.

Biography

Johnson was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, on January 29, 1913. In 1947, he founded Up-Right, Inc., a scaffolding company in Berkeley. He was Mayor of Berkeley, California as a moderate Republican from 1963 to 1971. Besides presiding over the often tumultuous city council meetings of the 1960s, one of his most notable achievements was leading the effort to have the tracks of the proposed BART line through Berkeley constructed underground instead of elevated as had been the original plan. 83% of Berkeley voters voted to increase local taxes to have the tracks underground.
He died on August 12, 1979, in Berkeley, aged 66.

Books authored