Council Member Foster "Gene" Johns

Council Member Foster "Gene" Johns was appointed to the City Council on June 14, 2023, and will serve as a City Council Member until the results of the November 5, 2024, City Council elections are certified. The administration of oath for Council Member Johns was held on June 20, 2023, during the Regular City Council Meeting. He will be eligible to run for full term on the City Council in the November 2024 General Election. Currently, Gene is Council Liaison to the Traffic & Transportation Commission, Senior Citizens Committee, and Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control. 

Newly appointed Council Member Johns served over 31 years as a Deputy Sheriff with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, in which 24 of those years, he served as cross-designated Task Force Officer assigned to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). He commanded a Task Force Group nationally recognized for disrupting and dismantling drug cartel operations. His expertise has been nationally recognized and was often called upon to instruct various law enforcement agencies throughout the nation. Newly appointed Council Member Johns retired in Laguna Niguel seven years ago, and since retirement, has sought opportunities to volunteer in civic and community organizations in the city. He recently served as a Commissioner for the City’s Traffic and Transportation Commission, and is an active member of the Laguna Niguel Chamber of Commerce, Niguel Botanical Preserve, and Laguna Niguel Lions Club.