DeleteSteve Johnson, a Great Bend attorney, announced he is seeking election as 20th Judicial District, Division II, Judge. He is running for the position recently vacated by retiring Judge Hannelore Kitts. The 20th Judicial District includes, Barton, Russell, Ellsworth, Rice and Stafford counties. Johnson will be running on the Republican ticket.
A graduate of Healy High School, Johnson continued his undergraduate degree from Fort Hays State University. He taught and coached in the Little River-Windom School District, prior to attending Washburn University School of Law in Topeka. Johnson graduated with honors in 1985, at which time he and wife Jil relocated to Great Bend. He has practiced law in numerous areas including civil, criminal, probate, domestic, oil and gas and juvenile for the past 27 years. Johnson is a cofounder of the Law Office of Bauer, Pike and Johnson, Chtd.
Steve and Jil have two children; Lyndsee will graduate in May with a master’s degree from Kansas State University. Their son Mitch is a junior at Great Bend High School.
Johnson is an active member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Great Bend, currently serving as a member of the Leadership Council. He is a member of the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce, past Chamber Ambassador, served on the Great Bend Housing Authority Board of Directors, past president and current director of Central Kansas Development Inc., and serves as treasurer of the Great Bend Noon Lions Club. Johnson is a member of the Kansas Bar Association, Southwest Kansas Bar Association and the Barton County Bar Association.
In announcing his placement on the ballot, Johnson said, “If elected, I will strive to continue the high standards the citizens of the 20th Judicial District have come to expect from their judges, by bringing integrity, honesty and common sense values to the bench."