Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) was the Republican governor of the U.S. state of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003.
Johnson attended the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque, with an emphasis in business and political science. It was there that he met his future wife, Denise "Dee" Simms.
While in college, Johnson earned money as a door-to-door handyman. His success in that arena encouraged him to start his own business, Big J Enterprises, which was founded in 1976. He eventually grew Big J into a multi-million dollar corporation. By the time he sold the company, in 1999, it was one of New Mexico's leading construction companies.
He has two children, a daughter, Seah, and a son, Erik.
Governor of New Mexico In 1994, Johnson received the Republican nomination for governor after a long primary campaign and close primary election. Despite having little experience in politics and despite the usual Democratic-leaning politics of New Mexico, Johnson was able to sway both Republicans and Democrats towards his libertarian beliefs. In the state general election, he defeated the incumbent Democratic governor Bruce King 50-40%. Johnson was elected in a nationally Republican year, though party registration in the state of New Mexico at the time was 2-1 Democratic.
In 1995, Johnson was criticized when he met with representatives of the New Mexico militia movement, soon after the Oklahoma City bombing. Johnson responded that he was meeting with the militia movement members to ensure that they remained non-violent.
In 1998, Johnson was re-elected as governor, defeating Democratic Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez by a 55% to 45% margin.
In 1999, Johnson became the highest-ranking elected official in the United States to advocate the repeal of drug prohibition. Saying the War on Drugs was "an expensive bust," he advocated the decriminalization of both drug use and possession in order to save money and potentially regulate currently illegal drugs. His position was similar to that of the Libertarian Party in many ways, and led many political observers to believe he would run for political office as a Libertarian in the future.
Under Johnson's administration, New Mexico experienced the longest period without a tax increase in the state's history, the rate of growth in the state government was cut in half, half of the state's prisons were privatized, state Medicaid was shifted to managed care, and the state was left with approximately 1,000 fewer employees (with no firings) and a budget surplus. Johnson vetoed 750 bills (which was more than all the vetoes of the other 49 Governors in the country at that time, combined), which earned him the nickname Gary "Veto" Johnson.
To this day, Johnson carries with him his "Seven Principles of Good Government":
1. Become reality driven. Don’t kid yourself or others. Find out what’s what and base your decisions and actions on that.
2. Always be honest and tell the truth. It’s extremely difficult to do any damage to anybody when you are willing to tell the truth–regardless of the consequences.
3. Always do what’s right and fair. Remember, the more you actually accomplish, the louder your critics become. You’ve got to learn to ignore your critics. You’ve got to continue to do what you think is right. You’ve got to maintain your integrity.
4. Determine your goal, develop a plan to reach that goal, and then act. Don’t procrastinate.
5. Make sure everybody who ought to know what you’re doing knows what you’re doing. Communicate.
6. Don’t hesitate to deliver bad news. There is always time to salvage things. There is always time to fix things. Henry Kissinger said that anything that can be revealed eventually should be revealed immediately.
7. Last, be willing to do whatever it takes to get your job done. If you’ve got a job that you don’t love enough to do what it takes to get your job done, then quit and get one that you do love, and then make a difference.
Post-gubernatorial life
Johnson was term limited and could not run for a third consecutive term as governor. In the 2008 election campaign, Johnson endorsed Ron Paul for the Republican presidential nomination.
He is an avid triathlete who runs several miles each day and abstains from all recreational drug use, caffeine, alcohol, and some sugar products. During his term in office, he competed in several triathlons and was also an outspoken advocate for physical fitness. In 2003, he climbed Mount Everest.
On September 29, 2005, it was reported in the Albuquerque Journal that Johnson and his wife, Dee, were divorcing. At that time Johnson stated that he initiated the separation and that he had become involved in a new relationship. The couple had been married since 1977. On December 22, 2006, Dee Johnson died of hypertensive cardiovascular disease at the age of 54
Johnson currently serves on the board of directors of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a youth-oriented nonprofit organization that seeks to end the war on drugs.
Possible 2012 presidential run Johnson has expressed interest in running for President of the United States in the 2012 election.
In September 2008, Johnson told Bill Kauffman of The American Conservative that "he may take a shot at the Republican presidential nomination in 2012 as an antiwar, anti-Fed, pro-personal liberties, slash-government-spending candidate—in other words, a Ron Paul libertarian".
