INDIANAPOLIS — Blake Johnson has been selected to serve as the State Representative for House District 100 after former state representative Dan Forestal resigned earlier this month.
Committee members of the Marion County Democratic precinct selected Johnson on Saturday to serve the remainder of the term, according to a press release from the Indiana General Assembly.
He is succeeding Forestal, who resigned on June 15 after a recent arrest.
“The time is long overdue for me to focus on my mental health and get myself well," Forestal said in a statement when he resigned. "I want to thank my family and friends for their love and support during this difficult time. We need to work together to shatter the stigma around mental health issues in the State of Indiana and address them with the same treatment and philosophy as physical health issues."
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Johnson, 33, is the president and CEO of IndyHub and the IndyHub Foundation, a non-profit organization working to connect and engage people in Indianapolis' future.
He served as an Indianapolis City-County Councilor for District 12 from 2015 until Saturday, when he was selected to serve as a State Representative.
This afternoon, I was selected to fill the @inhsedems vacancy in District 100. It has been an incredible honor to serve as a City Councillor, and I’m honored by the opportunity to serve in this new capacity at the General Assembly.
— Blake Johnson (@IndyBlakeJ) June 27, 2020
"I’m honored by the opportunity to serve my neighbors in District 100 as their Representative in the Indiana General Assembly," Johnson said in the release. "I will work every day to earn the trust placed in me with this appointment, especially as we continue to tackle the current public health crisis, work to address issues of racial and social justice in this city, state and country, and strive to improve the quality of life for all Hoosiers."
He will serve on the Indiana Homeland Security Foundation, the Energy, Utilities, and Telecommunications, and the Corrections and Criminal Codes interim study committees, according to the release.
Johnson is also running for State Representative for District 100 in this year's election.
