Ann Johnson

Debbie Bond, owner of American Hearing Aids, tells me, “I want to leave the SWN meetings pumped up and ready to take on the world. Operating a business is demanding and can be isolating in many respects; I liken it to feeling as if I’m on an island. Once a month I get to visit the ‘mainland’ – which is SWN. I count on SWN to give me a jolt. I take a break from the day-to-day running of my business and go where I know I’ll be inspired... until the following luncheon when I get my next ‘fix’!”
As the person who books speakers for SWN luncheons, I have been told by many that their goal is to leave SWN’s luncheon meetings feeling uplifted, regenerated, and rejuvenated - just like Debbie. Certainly, encouragement comes from other women who attend SWN meetings, but my job is to put people on the podium who will inspire you, teach you something, and enhance your lives; for these reasons I asked Ann Johnston, one of the most engaging public speakers I know, to speak to Stockton Women’s Network on April 2.
– Editor, Jo Marengo

Ann Johnston is a leader in our community who happens to be a woman. She has led in many ways: as a business owner, school board member, city council member, and as a candidate for Mayor of Stockton. Ann will share her insights on personal and professional success at our April 2 meeting. She will discuss why we need more women leaders and what motivates her to undertake her second bid for mayor of Stockton. Ann will discuss her challenges as a leader in our business community, having been a successful business owner for 27 years.

Ann Johnston has a life-long history of leadership. In 1965, Ann joined the Peace Corps to serve our country and teach people to help themselves. In 1979 through 1992, she served on the Lodi Unified School Board. She says, “We built 10 new schools in north Stockton to keep class sizes small.” In 1994, Ann wanted to ensure all citizens had a voice at City Hall, so she ran for City Council. From 1996 through 2003 she says, “We cleaned up graffiti and revitalized our downtown, and I wrote the city ordinance to keep shopping carts out of our neighborhoods.”

As a Councilmember, Ann helped start a program to hire Stockton’s teens to clean up our streets and parks in 1997. In 1998 Ann led an effort to open more than 30 after school homework centers for Stockton kids. In 2003 Ann was named Small Business Advocate of the Year for helping small businesses grow in Stockton. Not suprisingly, Ann served on SWN’s board of directors and was president of SWN in 1990. Hat wore another “hat” while accomplishing so much: she raised two sons with her husband, Cliff, her high school sweetheart, with whom she has sustained a 39 year marriage! We know this is no small feat in and of itself!

Ann’s current focus is the race for Stockton mayor. “These days there are few women who are bold enough to run for public office, says Ann. “Much less succeed in getting elected.”
California political activist Bettina Duvall writes, “We recognize the number of women holding public office is in an enormous decline, falling further in this past election cycle to just 28% of all state elected offices. Women are becoming represented by women less frequently in politics and with the decline go the champions of issues women hold most dear – education, health care, environmental protection, and reproductive choice to name a few.”

Ann says, “It’s a situation that women like Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, and Barbara Boxer have battled for years as women have tried to take their rightful place among our government leaders in local, state, and national legislatures. Women, after all, are the majority of the population in this country. So why is it so hard for women to assume equal responsibility in decision making in this country?”

Ann reports firsthand, “The odds are always against women who want to change the status quo. Women seldom have the money, the political power, or the approval of the “good old boys” to run for public office. They have to prove they are smarter, tougher, and more experienced than their male opponents. It’s what we face every day as women in the workplace, women who own businesses, and women who try to make a difference. When the economy slows down, our careers and our businesses are more challenging, and we often forget that those times provide exactly the challenges that make us better professionals and better community leaders.”

Please attend our April 2 meeting. Come hear Ann tell her story, share her mistakes, and uplift and inspire us with her experiences. Bring a friend. Bring a colleague. Share the best of what SWN has to offer... networking with our members and a speaker who will, like Debbie Bond says, “...get you pumped up and ready to take on the world.” r