Jay Johnson | Ex-Wis. congressman, 66
Former Rep. Jay Johnson of Wisconsin, 66, who spent three decades as a television journalist before jumping into politics, died Saturday of an apparent heart attack at his home in suburban Washington.
Former Rep. Jay Johnson of Wisconsin, 66, who spent three decades as a television journalist before jumping into politics, died Saturday of an apparent heart attack at his home in suburban Washington.
Mr. Johnson worked as a journalist in Wisconsin, Florida, and Michigan before running for Congress. The Democrat was elected to Wisconsin's Eighth District in 1996 and served on the House transportation and agriculture committees. He lost after one term to Republican Mark Green.
President Bill Clinton nominated Johnson to serve as director of the U.S. Mint in 1999, a position he held from May 2000 to August 2001. The next year he started Jay Johnson Coins & Consulting, where he developed a major wholesale coin-sales program for a national bank, according to a biography on his Web site.
The Michigan native also served in the Army as an information specialist from 1966 to 1968.
- AP