RUFUS I. JOHNSON of Newark was elected to his first term as a Freeholder At-Large in November of 2008 and re-elected in 2011.  He has served as Chief of Staff for State Senator Ronald L. Rice since 1998, having previously served as his Aide during Councilman Rice’s 16-year tenure on the Newark Municipal Council.  Freeholder Johnson has a long history of community activism, especially involving young people.  He was a co-founder and coach of both the Newark Optimist Club Little League and Newark Pop Warner Football League, and also coached the Our Lady of Good Counsel High School Basketball Team.  He held the position of President of the Newark West Ward Young Democrats, and also served on the Board of Habitat for Humanity.  Freeholder Johnson was educated in the Newark Public Schools, and then attended both Essex County College and Wilberforce University in Ohio.