Ex-PortMiami chief Johnson heads Fla. Commerce Dept.

Bill Johnson took office this month as head of Enterprise Florida.    Former PortMiami Director Bill Johnson took office early this month as Secretary of Commerce and CEO of Enterprise Florida, the state’s economic development arm. After a year managing the Miami-Dade Water & Sewer Department, Johnson is back on familiar territory working on business growth and international trade.
   Johnson was passed over a year ago to become president and chief executive officer of the Beacon Council, Miami-Dade County’s public-private economic development partnership.
   Now he’ll do similar work on a bigger stage.
   Republican Gov. Rick Scott appointed Johnson to head Enterprise Florida, which comes with the secretary of commerce title, in January. As head of Enterprise Florida, Johnson is tasked with creating jobs through business recruitment and expansion and assisting Florida businesses to engage in international trade, especially on the export side.
   During his eight years as port director, Johnson positioned PortMiami to become a significant container port. He launched a $2 billion-plus capital development program that includes the deepening of the port’s main channel to 50 feet to accommodate new mega-size container vessels that are becoming common in the world fleet; construction of the port tunnel in through a public-private partnership that enables trucks and cruise passengers to bypass downtown streets and connect directly to I-95; and the re-introduction of on-dock freight rail with the Florida East Coast Railway.
   The port tunnel opened to traffic in August and, according to the Bradenton Herald, Johnson became close to Scott when they jointly worked to overcome financing and political hurdles for the project.
   Johnson, 60, also solidified Miami’s position as the No. 1 cruise port in the world. 
   He was required to retire from the port because he was a participant in the state retirement program.
   A 35-year veteran of Miami-Dade County government, Johnson was also an assistant county manager with oversight of Miami International Airport and transit. During that time, he negotiated the deal for the American Airlines arena, home to the NBA’s Miami Heat franchise. He also served as a county transportation manager. 
   Johnson, a native of Akron, Ohio, is now one of the most visible openly gay public officials in Florida. Scott is a pro-business and family-values conservative who has opposed legal same-sex marriage. The two-term governor’s campaign web site said he believes marriage should be between a man and a woman, but he has also said he opposes discrimination against gays. 
   In a January 2014 interview with the Miami-Dade Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce’s online magazine, Johnson said his sexual orientation has never hindered his ability to get promotions.
   “Bill did a stellar job running PortMiami – one of the nation’s top container cargo posts and the busiest cruise port in the world – and has overseen the massive Deep Dredge project which will generate around 30,000 jobs in our state,” Scott said in a Jan. 22 statement following the Enterprise Florida board’s vote to hire Johnson. “His vision to expand and grow PortMiami will allow Florida to take advantage of increased trade opportunities with global markets and enable our state to grow as the leading hub for trade and logistics. Bill has a clear record of creating opportunities in our state and is laser-focused on our goal to make Florida the global destination for jobs. I am confident he will help us on our mission to beat Texas to become the number one state for job creation.”