 Johnson, of Holly, a former public school teacher and small business owner, was clerk and register of deeds of Oakland County, a suburban area immediately north of Detroit with a population of more than one million, prior to her election as secretary of state in November 2010.She was elected clerk of Oakland County in 2004 after defeating a long-time incumbent in the Republican primary, and was the first woman clerk in Oakland County's 176-year history.From 1988 to 1998, she was a member of the Oakland County Board of Commissioners.