Kionne L. McGhee (born November 23, 1977) is an American Democratic politician from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

who has served as a member of the Miami-Dade County Commission since 2020. Previously, he served in the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

from 2012 to 2020, representing south-central

Miami-Dade County Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...

stretching from Richmond Heights to

Florida City Florida City is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is the southernmost municipality in the South Florida metropolitan area. Florida City is primarily a Miami suburb and a major agricultural area. As of the 2020 census, it ...

. He was the House Minority Leader for the 2018–20 legislature.

History

McGhee was born in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

and attended

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

, where he graduated with a degree in political science in 2000, and the

Thurgood Marshall School of Law The Thurgood Marshall School of Law (TMSL) is an ABA-accredited law school in Houston, Texas, that awards Juris Doctor and Master of Law degrees. It is part of Texas Southern University. Thurgood Marshall School of Law is a member-school of the Th ...

Texas Southern University Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black college or universities in the USA with nearly 10,000 ...

, where he received a

Juris doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

. After graduating, McGhee wrote "A Mere I Can is American," his memoir, and started working as an assistant state attorney in

Florida House of Representatives

In 2010, McGhee ran for the

in the 118th District, based in

, in the Democratic primary against incumbent

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

Dwight Bullard Dwight Bullard (born February 4, 1977) is a Democratic politician and teacher from Florida. He served one term in the Florida State Senate, representing parts of South Florida from 2012 to 2016, and before that served two terms in the Florida H ...

. In a closely fought election, McGhee narrowly lost to Bullard by 399 votes, receiving 47% of the vote. Florida House districts were reconfigured in 2012 and Bullard successfully ran for the

Florida State Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopte ...

, meaning that the newly created 117th District, which included most of the territory in the previous 118th District, was an open seat. McGhee opted to run there, and was opposed by Carmen Morris and Harold Ford in the Democratic primary, whom he was able to comfortably defeat, receiving 65% of the vote to Morris's 17% and Ford's 20%. He advanced to the general election, where he was elected unopposed. In 2014, when the legislature considered a bill that would have allowed "unlicensed gun owners to carry their weapons after evacuating during an emergency," which McGhee voted against when it was considered before the House Judiciary Committee, saying that it would result in "local militias." The ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a List of communities in Miami-Dade County, Florida, city in western Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the M ...

'' praised McGhee for his "sensibly cast" vote against the legislation, which it called "misguided." Additionally, when the legislature failed to act on legislation sponsored by

State Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

and

Cynthia Stafford Cynthia A. Stafford (born July 11, 1967) is a Democratic politician and a former member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 109th District, which includes northeastern Miami-Dade County, from 2010 to 2018. History Staff ...

that would have raised the state's minimum wage from $7.93 to $10.10 an hour, McGhee joined several of his colleagues in living on the minimum wage for a week, and was followed by TV cameras while he purchased food for the week at a

Publix Publix Super Markets, Inc., commonly known as Publix, is an employee-owned American supermarket chain headquartered in Lakeland, Florida. Founded in 1930 by George W. Jenkins, Publix is a private corporation that is wholly owned by present and ...

store. McGhee was term-limited from the House in 2020, after serving four terms.

Miami-Dade County Commission

In 2020, McGhee ran for the Miami-Dade County Commission seat vacated by Dennis Moss, who was term-limited. He defeated former

Homestead Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses *Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres *Homestead principle, a legal concept th ...

commissioner Elvis Maldonado in the general election.

References

External links

Florida House of Representatives - Kionne L. McGheeMcGhee for State House
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGhee, Kionne 1977 births 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century American politicians African-American state legislators in Florida Howard University alumni Living people Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Politicians from Miami Thurgood Marshall School of Law alumni