Cornelius Johnson has announced his intent to leave Harrisburg City Council.
An emotional city councilman gave a preliminary farewell to his colleagues on Tuesday night, as the Harrisburg City Council prepared to fill its third empty seat in a year.
Councilman Cornelius Johnson choked back tears as he reflected on his 2½ years in office, saying that he had grown as a person during that time and hoped that he has served his native city well.
“Harrisburg is a very special place,” he said. “I believe it will be as great a city as I know it can be.”
Johnson, 30, announced just last night on Facebook his intent to leave council effective Sept. 14. He is moving to Atlanta to take a job with Chick-fil-A, he said tonight.
After Johnson spoke, his council colleagues took turns praising both his tenure on the seven-member body and his involvement in the community.
“I’m going to miss seeing you at community events. You’re everywhere,” said Councilman Dave Madsen. “I hope you take all these values to Atlanta and hopefully, someday, you’ll come back.”
Council now must appoint a city resident to fill the remainder of Johnson’s four-year term. Council President Wanda Williams tonight said that council will follow a similar process to past vacancies.
Applications for the position will be available beginning Sept. 7 and must be returned completed to city hall by Sept. 21. At an Oct. 3 special meeting, qualified applicants will have the opportunity to briefly introduce themselves to council members, who each will nominate a candidate of their choice. Those nominees then will have a longer interview that night before a vote to select the appointee, who will be sworn in before the Oct. 7 regular meeting.
This will be the third vacancy on council in about a year, as former council members Jeffrey Baltimore and Destini Hodges resigned last year, replaced by Dave Madsen and Ausha Green, respectively.
In his remarks, Johnson said that he believed that Harrisburg has a great future ahead of it, as long as politicians always remember that they’re in office to serve the public, not the other way around.
“We’ve seen what happens when you don’t put residents first,” he said. “We have to keep to our true purpose, and then we’ll see how Harrisburg will improve.”
