NATCHEZ &045;&045; Robert Johnson said his 10 years as a state senator will give him the seniority needed to quickly make his way into positions of power once he’s elected to the House of Representatives District 94 seat.

&uot;In the Legislature, experience and seniority are extremely important, and Natchez is at a very desperate time right now,&uot; he said.

Johnson, an attorney who ran for re-election to the District 38 Senate seat last year, was defeated by Kelvin Butler for that position.

Prior to that time, Johnson had served in several leadership positions, including ad hoc chairman of the Public Employees Retirement Committee.

He also served as vice chairman of the Judiciary Committee and

subcommittee chair within the Criminal Justice and Education committees and served on numerous conference committees.

Johnson said that in those position, he worked closely with the redistricting process as well as school curriculum and law enforcement issues.

And, he said, he gained the experience and seniority necessary to quickly leapfrog his way into power in House committees. Having representation in such positions is to southwest Mississippi’s advantage, he said.

Johnson also said he would listen closely to local officials to see what they hope to accomplish and how he, as a legislator, can help further southwest Mississippi’s agenda.

Johnson said his first priorities as state representative would include health care, especially for the poor and elderly. Johnson said he would work to seek out ways to help fund better health care programs.

&uot;The governor has the attitude that we have to bite the bullet (financially), but it seems these cuts are always borne on the backs of the poor or older people,&uot; he said. &uot;We have to work harder to find ways to get adequate health care and medicine to these people.&uot;

He said another priority would be attracting jobs. To do that, Johnson said, he would work to make sure funding for infrastructure and education is on track.

Where education is concerned, funding for worker training is essential to get new jobs, he said. In addition, Johnson said the Legislature must maintain an adequate level of funding for teacher pay raises and school facilities.

&uot;There are a lot of places we could cut, but education shouldn’t be one of them,&uot; Johnson said.

When it comes to tort reform &045;&045; long a hot button issue in the Miss-Lou &045;&045; Johnson said he doesn’t see further changes to the state’s tort system as necessary.

&uot;I’ve never agreed with caps&uot; on damages in lawsuits, Johnson said. The Legislature, he said, &uot;made drastic changes in 2004 when I wasn’t there. We need to make sure (those changes) don’t do any damage to the justice system.

When it comes to the changes that have already been made, &uot;we need to give them a chance to work&uot; and not make further changes now, Johnson said.

The Business and Industry Political Education Committee, or BIPEC &045;&045; which bills itself as a nonpartisan research organization &045;&045; rates legislators each year based on selected votes on business issues.

Johnson’s BIPEC rating, based on tort reform votes during the 2002 special session, was 7 on a scale of 1 to 100, with 100 being the highest.

That, Johnson said, is because he voted against caps. &uot;I believe each case ought to be judged on a case-by-case basis,&uot; he said.

However, Johnson noted that he voted for limiting venues where cases can be heard. &uot;I don’t think a doctor ought to be dragged to Fayette for trial when everything (regarding the case) happened in Natchez,&uot; he said.