Augustus C. "Gus" Johnson, Rest in Peace

By: Rob
Published On: 12/28/2006 6:14:47 PM

Passing along (later than I meant to) the obituary of a great Virginia Democrat:
As a rare Virginia liberal when the state's Democratic Party was conservative, Mr. Johnson served as Fairfax County Democratic chairman from 1958 to 1964 and as 10th District Democratic Committee chairman from 1966 to 1972. After he retired from Springfield to Syria, Va., in 1980, he served on the Madison County Democratic Committee until 2000. He moved to Arlington County in 2005.
I never knew Mr. Johnson - sounds like a great guy from reading the entire article.

Comments



Great Post (Ben - 12/28/2006 9:08:37 PM)
I knew Gus from when I worked on a Congressional campaign that included Madison County in 2002.  Even at his late age, he wrote spectacular letters to the editor on Eric Cantor that no one else could match.  RIP Gus.


Thanks Ben. (Rob - 12/29/2006 12:24:37 PM)
If anyone sends me these LTEs by email, I'd be happy to repost them here in honor of Mr. Johnson.  Or feel free to post the text in the comments or a diary.

robatraisingkaine AT gmail



Gus Johnson (Leslie Byrne - 12/29/2006 10:37:40 AM)
Gus was a true progressive in every sense of the word. His obiturary really didn't cover his wonderful humor. He once told me that we Democrats can take issues seriously but never ourselves. He disliked pomposity in any form and took every opportunity to, in today's lingo, "make it real". He was my friend and I will miss him.


Thank you for the great comment! (Rob - 12/29/2006 12:26:29 PM)