Sen. Eric Johnson to run for lieutenant governor in 2010

Dick Pettys of InsiderAdvantage brings news that Sen. Eric Johnson, R-Savannah, has confirmed that he’ll run for lieutenant governor in 2010 — but only if Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle decides he won’t seek another term in office.

Johnson’s a champion for education — that was one of his pet projects during the last legislative session. Pettys says it looks like universal school choice might be a big part of his ‘10 platform and his strategy in January as well.

He’s also one of the more colorful characters under the Gold Dome. When Gov. George Pataki of New York pulled down Georgia’s old flag in its statehouse because it incorporated the stars and bars, Johnson climbed on the ledge of the third floor in the Capitol to pull down the Empire State’s colors. He’s always good for a quote, was/is an awesome blogger, and underwent one of the coolest extreme makeovers a lawmaker has ever attempted since Joe Lieberman became a Republican. (Come on, you know he is, he’s just too lazy to change the letterhead.)

But he’s also a lawmaker who’ll actually address your questions without trailing off into some “let’s-move-forward-with-solutions” nonsense speech laden with soundbites and canned phrases. You may or may not agree with him all the time, but at least he’s direct. Of course, that’s gotten him into some trouble before.

Plus, he says he reads Fresh Loaf, so we gotta show some love to a reader.

(The senator from the Garden of Good and Evil says he’s a Led Zeppelin fan, hence the rare photo posted to the right. Johnson stood in for Robert Plant during a tour after the famous singer suffered a panther attack.)