Ken Joseph Russell (born June 24, 1973) is an American politician and

yo-yo A yo-yo (also spelled yoyo) is a toy consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a string looped around the axle, similar to a spool. It is an ancient toy with proof of existence since 500 BCE. The yo-yo was also called a bandalore in ...

champion from the state of Florida. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, he served on the

Miami City Commission The government of the city of Miami, Florida is organized under the City Charter, which provides for a mayor-commissioner form of city government. Organization City Commission and Mayor The Mayor of Miami, currently Francis X. Suarez, is th ...

from 2015 to 2022.

Early life and career

Russell was born in Doctors Hospital in

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Coral Gables is known globally as home to the ...

, and raised in

Coconut Grove Coconut Grove, also known colloquially as The Grove, is the oldest continuously inhabited neighborhood of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The neighborhood is roughly bound by North Prospect Drive to the south, LeJeune Road to the west, S ...

and

Key Biscayne Key Biscayne ( es, Cayo Vizcaíno, link=no) is an island located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, located between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. It is the southernmost of the barrier islands along the Atlantic coast of Florida, and lies sout ...

. Russell's father, Jack, was an international yo-yo champion and developed a patent on his brand of yo-yo. Jack worked for the

Duncan Toys Company The Duncan Toys Company is an American toy manufacturer based in Middlefield, Ohio best known for its line of yo-yos. The company was founded in 1929 by Donald F. Duncan Sr. and purchased the Flores Yo-Yo Company from Pedro Flores, who brought ...

before breaking off to start his own. His mother, Kazuyo, was Japan's national yo-yo champion. The family moved from Miami to

Stuart, Florida Stuart is a city in and the seat of Martin County, Florida, United States. Located on Florida's Treasure Coast, Stuart is the largest of four incorporated municipalities in Martin County. The population is 17,425 according to the 2020 United State ...

, after

Hurricane David Hurricane David was an extremely deadly hurricane which caused massive loss of life in the Dominican Republic in August 1979, and was the most intense hurricane to make landfall in the country in recorded history. A Cape Verde hurricane that rea ...

in 1979. Russell graduated from

Martin County High School Martin County High School is a public high school in Stuart, Florida, USA, in the Martin County School Districtbr>The school enrolled 2,079 students in a 2012 census. In 2022, it was a "B" rated school through the Florida Department of Education ...

in 1991. When he was 15 years old, Russell became a professional and went on international yo-yo tours. He attended the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

. He earned a

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is a bachelor's degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of business administration and usually including advanced ...

. After graduating, he went to work for his family's company. After the business suffered during the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...

, Russell opened a watersports store.

Political career

Russell became involved in local politics in 2013 when he and other residents of Coconut Grove insisted that the city remove, rather than cover, toxic soil from a park. In 2015, Russell ran to represent District 2 on the

; incumbent Marc Sarnoff was prevented from running again due to

term limit A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

s. Russell won the election with 42 percent; though he did not earn enough votes to automatically avoid a runoff, the second place finisher withdrew from the race. He announced in October 2017 that he would run for the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

for in the 2018 elections, but he withdrew his candidacy in April 2018. He was reelected to a second term on the city commission in 2019. In 2021, Russell announced that he would run for the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

in the 2022 election. After determining that

Val Demings Valdez Venita Demings (née Butler; born March 12, 1957) is an American politician and former police officer serving as the U.S. representative from since 2017. The district covers most of the western half of Orlando and includes much of the ar ...

was likely to win the Democratic nomination in the Senate race, he switched his candidacy to the

for Florida's 27th district in May 2022. Russell lost the primary election on August 23 to

Annette Taddeo Annette Joanne Taddeo-Goldstein (née Taddeo; born April 7, 1967) is a Colombian-American politician and businesswoman serving as a member of the Florida Senate from the 40th district. She was an unsuccessful candidate for several elections star ...

. Russell resigned from the Miami City Commission to run for Congress. He initially chose to resign effective January 3, 2023, but left office on December 29, 2022.

Personal life

Russell and his wife, Juliana, have two daughters.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Ken 1973 births American politicians of Japanese descent Asian-American city council members Candidates in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections Florida city council members Florida Democrats Living people People from Coral Gables, Florida University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Yo-yo performers