Born in
Broderick, California, Johnson earned his lifelong nickname "Bizz" at age four when his uncle observed him leading the other children and compared him to
Bismarck. He attended public school in
Roseville and the
University of Nevada. He worked for the
Pacific Fruit Express Company, starting as a clerk before rising to a supervisory position, and was a district chairman of the
Brotherhood of Railway Clerks. Johnson entered politics as a trustee of the Roseville school board in 1941, was elected to the Roseville city council in 1943, and served as mayor of Roseville. In 1948, he was elected to the
California State Senate representing
Placer,
Nevada and
Sierra counties. In the legislature, he supported the creation of a four-lane highway across the
Sierra Nevada that eventually became
Interstate 80. He also sponsored legislation to ensure that the
1960 Winter Olympics would be held in
Squaw Valley. Johnson was reelected by comfortable margins, even as the district turned more conservative. However, Johnson lost reelection to
Republican state assemblyman
Eugene A. Chappie in 1980 on the back of former California Governor
Ronald Reagan's strong victory in that year's
presidential election, falling to only 32 percent of the vote. After his defeat, he continued to lobby for uncompleted projects that had been authorized when he in office.
Personal life Johnson married Albra Irene Manuel of Roseville in 1937, remaining together to her death in 1983, and had a son and daughter. He died on March 16, 1988, at a
Sacramento hospital at the age of 80. ==Legacy==