Randy D. Dunn is an American city planner and politician. He is a former member of the

Missouri House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...

from the 23rd District. Dunn was first elected in 2012 at the age of 29 and was re-elected to office in 2014 and 2016. Currently, he is the executive director of the Missouri Democratic Party.

Early life and career

Dunn was born in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

on November 18, 1982, to Randy Dunn and Janice Dunn, former Democratic Committeewoman for the 18th Ward in

Jackson County, Missouri Jackson County is located in the western portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 717,204. making it the second-most populous county in the state (after St. Louis County). Although Independence retains ...

. Dunn has two older brothers and three nephews. He is a distant relative of

Oscar Dunn Oscar James Dunn (1822 – November 22, 1871) served as a Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana during the era of Reconstruction and was the first African American to act as governor of a U.S. state. In 1868, Dunn became the first elected black ...

, former Lt. Governor of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

and the first African American elected to statewide office in the Country. Dunn graduated from Raytown South High School where he ran track and served on student council. In 2021 Dunn was inducted into the Raytown Alumni Hall of Fame. He received his bachelor of arts and master of public administration degrees from the

University of Missouri Kansas City 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, t ...

where he was also a

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the Secretary of Housing and Urb ...

Fellow and attended law school. In 2021 Dunn received a professional certificate in Citizen Politics in America from Harvard. Dunn has always been active in the community and serves on numerous boards including Chair of Nu World Contemporary Danse Theatre, Kansas City Regional Transit Authority, and Freedom, Inc. Dunn is also a member of

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the 1905–1906 school year at Cornell University but later evolved int ...

fraternity. and previously served as President of the Omicron Xi Lambda chapter.

Career

Dunn served as city planner for the city of Kansas City, Missouri from 2007 to 2012. In 2007 Dunn also obtained his real estate license and professional certificate in economic development. Additionally, Dunn is the owner and managing partner of Dean & Dunn LLC, a consulting firm based out of Kansas City. Randy previously owned and operated an online men's clothing boutique named Jet KC. Dunn also has experience working for several community and economic development corporations, working in Kansas City and Louisiana. Dunn was also elected as Vice-Chair of the Democratic Cause and Democratic Committeeman for the 2nd Ward of Jackson County, Missouri. In 2017 Dunn resigned from the Missouri Legislature to take a position in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

as founding executive director of a nonprofit community development intermediary. After moving back to Missouri Dunn came on staff for. In February 2021, Rep. Dunn was named executive director of the Missouri Democratic Party, again making histiory as the first openly gay person of color to serve in this position.

Election history

In early 2012, Dunn announced his candidacy for the office of state representative for the 23rd District, a newly created district following redistricting. Dunn received strong community support and won the 2012 election defeating Derron Black and Erik Stafford in the August 7 primary. Dunn was unopposed in the November 6 general election and was sworn into office on January 9, 2013. Upon his election, Dunn become the first openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

person of color elected to any office in Missouri's history. Dunn ran for a second term in 2014. He was unopposed in the Democratic primary and the general election. Dunn was sworn into office on January 7, 2015. Dunn was once again successful, and reelected for a third term after defeating Derron Black once more in the primary and was unopposed in the general election in November. Dunn was sworn into office on January 4, 2017.

Elections

Committee assignments

2017–2018

Representative Dunn served on the following committees: *Elections and Elected Officials *Budget *Consent and House Procedure – (Ranking Member) *Subcommittee on Appropriations – Agriculture, Conservation, Natural Resources, and Economic Development- (Ranking Member) *Urban Economic Development – (Chair) "99th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session – 2017. Representative Randy Dunn District 023 (Democrat)". Missouri House of Representatives. house.mo.gov. Retrieved 01/12/2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Randy D. 1982 births African-American state legislators in Missouri Living people Democratic Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives Politicians from Kansas City, Missouri University of Missouri–Kansas City alumni 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people