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A lifelong city resident, Rosetta Johnson is running for a spot on the city council.

Johnson is running as part of the AP Out Front ticket, with running mates Clevette Hill, Shonna Famularo, Stephen Williams and Dorvil Gillis.

Johnson, 53, was born and raised in Asbury Park and currently resides on Monroe Avenue. Her daughter, Shadasia Rose Johnson, 14, is a student in the Asbury Park school district.

Johnson attended kindergarten through 12th grade in the Asbury Park public school system, then obtained an associate’s degree from Brookdale Community College, a certification in management and labor from Rutgers University, a general law enforcement diploma from a correspondents’ school, and a masters degree in criminal justice from Monmouth University, she said.

She worked for the city for about 10 years as neighborhood preservation program director, retiring in 2008 due to a bad motor vehicle accident, she said. As director of that program, she wrote grants and worked with the state Department of Community Affairs [DCA] and the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD]

She created the Energy Maintenance Network, which assists people who cannot pay their utility bills, in 2001, she said. She also completed an internship with Barack Obama’s administration in Virginia in 2008. she said.

“I’ve been in Asbury Park my whole life,” Johnson said in an interview. “I love the ocean. I love the people. The town grows on you. If you’ve been here, why go somewhere else?”

She remembers when Asbury Park was flourishing in the 1960s, and has “high hopes of the city rising again from the ashes,” she said.

As a member of the city council, Johnson would like to be a messenger for the people of the city, she said. As a homeowner, she knows what it’s like to be burdened by property taxes, and as a former city employee, she is familiar with Asbury Park’s demographic makeup.

Johnson grew up in poverty, she said, with a mother who was rising five children on welfare.

“I rose above that poverty because of education,” she said. “I know what it’s like to want a job. I want to be an inspiration to help people.”

Johnson believes redevelopment on the boardwalk is crucial for the city’s success, and she’d like to see more family-friendly attractions like arcades and rides in the waterfront area.

“The city needs to re-explore family destinations,” she said. “Why reinvent the wheel?”

Such attractions could even cut down on crime, she said.

“Why are all these kids shooting and doing bad stuff, because they don’t have anything better to do? No, they don’t,” she said.

She also would like to see retail options in the downtown that cater to people of all income levels, not just high-end boutiques.

“It doesn’t make sense to have something downtown for just high earners,” she said. “So many people who used to walk downtown [don’t anymore]. We have to look at all the different people in Asbury Park and in every aspect of what we do, we have to accommodate everybody.”

The boardwalk and downtown used to have “simple accommodations for all earners,” she said. “I’d like them to put back what was there and what worked years ago for everybody. My mother always said there was something down there for everybody, and we all got along.”

As a council member, she would like to bring in a new developer with a development plan “that accommodates everybody,” she said.

She is pleased to see development happening on Springwood Avenue, about 40 years after riots affected that portion of the city, she said.

“Right now, anything we can do to bury the ghost of yesteryear will be great because it’s a constant reminder of the riots,” she said. “It’s time to put that behind us and more forward.”

Johnson also wants to examine the city’s quality-of-life issues, including substandard housing and gun violence, she said.

Fiscal responsibility is also important, she said. She believes the key to solving the city’s financial problems is to have more accountability at City Hall, pointing to a budgetary shortfall of $1 million last year and the past failure of some designated redevelopers.

“Why can’t our leadership be accountable for the city that they’re being paid or elected to run?” she said. “The council has to be held accountable. They hired the developer. They hired the city manager.”

Johnson also finds economic development to be important, she said.

“We should start with a transportation plan for getting people to work,” she said. “We need to also network with companies to hire. Reach out with them, have more job fairs.”

Re-entry programs to integrate former inmates back into the city are also important, she said.

Johnson also would like to see grants used to help people in the southwest portion of the city, she said.

“When money comes to our city, it should be used in that area,” she said. “Do something feasible so that people in the southwest have money coming in and they can basically see it.”

To accomplish all of her ticket’s goals, forming committees will be important, Johnson said.

“We’ll have people from the community work with us, instead of five people going behind a door and making decisions for the city,” she said. “That has to stop because you have limited information.”

Johnson feels the current council has not communicated enough with the city residents, she said.

“Five people shouldn’t go behind closed doors and make major decisions for the city,” she said.

Johnson and her running mates are “a grassroots movement,” she said. “We want the type of council where they don’t know everything and they don’t mind being in a learning mode. Citizens in the community can help them.”

Johnson and her running mates have a passion and love for the city, she said.

“When we stand up, we’re standing up for the city,” she said. “I think what’s different about us is our passion and our love for the city and the people in it, and wanting to get things done and work with others without prejudice, without a hidden agenda.”

The city council election is scheduled for May 14. Twenty-two candidates are vying for five council seats. The current council’s terms expire on June 30, with new terms beginning on July 1.

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