John E. Barnes Jr. (born June 12, 1958) is an American politician who served as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, representing the 12th district from 2011 to 2018. He formerly served in the same seat from January 1999 to February 2002.

Education

Barnes was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

and raised in the

Union–Miles Park Union–Miles Park is a neighborhood on the Southeast side of Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States. The neighborhood draws its name from Union Avenue (which bifurcates the northern part of the neighborhood), and Miles Park in its far southwest c ...

neighborhood. He earned a Master of Science degree in business management from Weatherhead School of Management at

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...

Career

Barnes served as director of Cleveland's Department of Community Relations and was a senior tax auditor and investigator in the city's division of taxation before serving two terms in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1999 to 2002. Barnes opted out of serving a third term and was replaced by

Michael DeBose Michael DeBose (December 16, 1953 – April 23, 2012) was an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the Ohio House of Representatives. He was first elected to that position on February 13, 2002. Biography DeBose attended C ...

. However, upon DeBose being term limited in 2010, Barnes opted to try and take back his old seat. In the heavily-Democratic seat, Barnes faced four opponents in the Democratic primary, included DeBose's son, Michael K. DeBose. While '' The Plain Dealer'' did not endorse Barnes, he went on to win the primary. Barnes ran unopposed in the general election, was sworn into his former seat on January 3, 2011. Subsequently, Barnes was named as a member of the Economic and Small Business Development Committee, the Health and Aging Committee, and the Ways and Means Committee. He was also a member of the Vehicle Management Commission. Barnes was unopposed for reelection to his seat in 2012. In 2014, Barnes did not receive the endorsement of the Democratic party. He won a contested primary election against Jill Miller Zimon, a city councilwoman in Pepper Pike, with 54% of the vote. He ran unopposed in the general election. On February 1, 2021, Barnes filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission for the

2021 Ohio's 11th congressional district special election On March 10, 2021, Marcia Fudge resigned her seat in the United States House of Representatives after being confirmed by the United States Senate to serve as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Biden administration. Governor ...

References

External links

Campaign website
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, John E. Jr. Democratic Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives Living people 1958 births Case Western Reserve University alumni African-American state legislators in Ohio 21st-century American legislators 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people Candidates in the 2021 United States elections