Vernon Sykes
2017 - Present
2024
7
Vernon Sykes (Democratic Party) is a member of the Ohio State Senate, representing District 28. He assumed office on January 1, 2017. His current term ends on December 31, 2024.
Sykes (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Ohio State Senate to represent District 28. He won in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Sykes served in the Ohio House of Representatives, representing District 34 from 2007 to 2014. He was ineligible to run for re-election to the House in 2014 because of term limits. Sykes previously served in the House, representing District 44 from 1983 to 2000.
Biography
Sykes earned his B.B.A. in Management from Ohio University, his M.S. in Social and Applied Economies from Wright State University, his M.P.A. from Harvard University and his Ph.D. in Public Administration and Urban Studies from the University of Akron. His professional experience includes working as director of the Columbus Program in Intergovernmental Issues, as an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Kent State University, as assistant fiscal officer for the Summit County Criminal Justice Commission and senior management specialist for United Neighborhood Council's Economic Development Program.[1]
Committee assignments
2023-2024
Sykes was assigned to the following committees:
- Community and Family Advancement Committee
- Senate Primary and Secondary Education Committee
- Senate Finance Committee
- Small Business and Economic Opportunity Committee
- State Controlling Board Committee
2021-2022
Sykes was assigned to the following committees:
- State Controlling Board Committee
- Senate Finance Committee, Ranking member
- Local Government and Elections Committee
- Senate Primary and Secondary Education Committee
- Small Business and Economic Opportunity Committee, Ranking member
2019-2020
Sykes was assigned to the following committees:
- Joint Education Oversight Committee
- State Controlling Board Committee
- Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee
- Education Committee
- Senate Finance Committee, Ranking minority member
- Senate Ways and Means Committee
- Transportation, Commerce, and Workforce Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Sykes served on the following committees:
| Ohio committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Finance and Appropriations |
| • State and Local Government |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Sykes served on the following committees:
| Ohio committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Finance and Appropriations |
| • State Government and Elections |
| • Local Government |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Sykes served on the following committees:
| Ohio committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Consumer Affairs and Economic Protection |
| • Faith-based Initiatives |
| • Finance and Appropriations |
Issues
Political positions
Debt negotiations
Sykes is one of the members of a bipartisan group organized by the National Conference of Legislatures called the Task Force on Federal Deficit Reduction (TFFDR). Consisting of 23 state lawmakers from 17 states,[2] the group went to Capitol Hill on September 21, 2011 to urge the Congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to cut the nation's debt but not impose severe budget cuts on the states.
TFFDR urged the Committee to consider new revenue as a possibility, instead of just focusing on budget cuts as House Speaker John Boehner has proposed. The group specifically proposed passage of the "Main Street Fairness Act," which would allow states to tax online retailers.[3]
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2020
See also: Ohio State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for Ohio State Senate District 28
Incumbent Vernon Sykes defeated Michael Downey in the general election for Ohio State Senate District 28 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Vernon Sykes (D) | 59.8 | 88,929 | |
 | Michael Downey (R) | 40.2 | 59,701 | |
| Total votes: 148,630 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Ohio State Senate District 28
Incumbent Vernon Sykes advanced from the Democratic primary for Ohio State Senate District 28 on April 28, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Vernon Sykes | 100.0 | 24,995 | |
| Total votes: 24,995 | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Ohio State Senate District 28
Michael Downey advanced from the Republican primary for Ohio State Senate District 28 on April 28, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Michael Downey | 100.0 | 8,626 |
| Total votes: 8,626 | ||||
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Campaign finance
2016
- See also: Ohio State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the Ohio State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election was held on March 15, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was December 16, 2015. Incumbent Thomas Sawyer (D) did not seek re-election because of term-limits.
Vernon Sykes defeated Jonathan Schulz in the Ohio State Senate District 28 general election.[4]
| Ohio State Senate, District 28 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Vernon Sykes |
61.21% | 83,805 | |
| Republican | Jonathan Schulz | 38.79% | 53,117 | |
| Total Votes | 136,922 | |||
| Source: Ohio Secretary of State | ||||
Vernon Sykes ran unopposed in the Ohio State Senate District 28 Democratic primary.[5][6]
| Ohio State Senate District 28, Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Vernon Sykes (unopposed) |
100.00% | 23,918 | |
| Total Votes | 23,918 | |||
Jonathan Schulz ran unopposed in the Ohio State Senate District 28 Republican primary.[5][6]
| Ohio State Senate District 28, Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Jonathan Schulz (unopposed) |
100.00% | 20,203 | |
| Total Votes | 20,203 | |||
2012
Sykes won re-election in the 2012 election for Ohio House, District 34. Sykes defeated Derrick Hall in the March 6 Democratic primary election and defeated Ronya J. Habash (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[7][8][9]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Vernon Sykes Incumbent |
81.4% | 40,469 | |
| Republican | Ronya J. Habash | 18.6% | 9,254 | |
| Total Votes | 49,723 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Vernon Sykes |
81.9% | 6,224 |
| Derrick Hall | 18.1% | 1,376 |
| Total Votes | 7,600 | |
2010
Sykes won re-election to District 44 of the Ohio House of Representatives. Sykes defeated Josh Sines (R) in the general election.[10] His opponents were Josh Sines (R) and Kurtis S.F. Liston (L). The election took place on November 2, 2010.[11][12]
| Ohio House of Representatives, District 44 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Vernon Sykes (D)
|
20,107 | 77.66% | ||
| Josh Sines (R) | 5,087 | 19.65% | ||
| Kurtis S.F. Liston (L) | 697 | 2.69% | ||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Sykes won re-election to the Ohio House of Representatives. He ran unopposed.[13][14][15]
| Ohio House of Representatives, District 44 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Vernon Sykes (D)
|
37,314 | |||
2006
On November 7, 2006, Sykes won election to the Ohio House of Representatives.[16] His opponent was Joseph D. Crawford (R).
| Ohio House of Representatives, District 44 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Vernon Sykes (D)
|
22,653 | |||
| Joseph D. Crawford (R) | 5,390 | |||
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Vernon Sykes did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Ohio scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023
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In 2023, the Ohio State Legislature was in session from January 2 to December 31.
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2022
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In 2022, the Ohio State Legislature was in session from January 19 to December 15.
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2021
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In 2021, the Ohio State Legislature was in session from January 4 to December 31.
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2020
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In 2020, the Ohio State Legislature was in session from January 6 to December 31.
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2019
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In 2019, the Ohio General Assembly was in session from January 7 through December 31.
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2018
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In 2018, the 132nd Ohio General Assembly was in session from January 2 through December 31.
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2017
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In 2017, the 132nd Ohio General Assembly was in session from January 2 through December 31.
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2016
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In 2016, the 131st Ohio General Assembly was in session from January 5 through December 31.
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2015
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In 2015, the 131st Ohio General Assembly was in session from January 5 through December 31.
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2014
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In 2014, the 130th Ohio General Assembly was in session from January 7 through December 31.
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2013
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In 2013, the 130th Ohio General Assembly was in session from January 7 to December 31.
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2012
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In 2012, the 129th Ohio General Assembly was in session from January 3 through December 31.
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2011
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In 2011, the 129th Ohio General Assembly was in session from January 3 through December 31.[17]
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Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Sykes and his wife, Barbara, have two children. They currently reside in Akron, Ohio.[1]
See also
2020 Elections
External links
|
Officeholder Ohio State Senate District 28 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Representative Vernon Sykes, "Biography," accessed May 21, 2013
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Task Force on Federal Deficit Reduction," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ Stateline, "State legislators want revenue on table in debt talks," September 22, 2011
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Official election results," accessed December 21, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ohio Secretary of State, "Candidate Listing By Office," accessed February 8, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Ohio Secretary of State, "2016 Official Elections Results," accessed August 29, 2016
- ↑ Ohio Chamber of Commerce, "2012 General Assembly Primary Candidates," January 17, 2012
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "2012 Democratic Primary Results," accessed June 12, 2014
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Ohio official results for 2012 General Election," accessed June 10, 2014
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "State Representative: Results for general election on November 2, 2010," accessed June 11, 2014
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Democratic State Representative: Results for Primary: May 4, 2010," accessed June 11, 2014
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Republican State Representative: Results for Primary: May 4, 2010," accessed June 11, 2014
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Republican State Representative: Results for Primary: March 4, 2008," accessed June 11, 2014
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Democratic State Representative: Results for Primary: March 4, 2008," accessed June 11, 2014
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "State Representative: Results for general election on November 4, 2008," accessed June 11, 2014
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "State Representative: Results for general election on November 7, 2006," accessed June 11, 2014
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2011 Legislative Sessions Calendar," accessed June 6, 2014(Archived)
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Ohio State Senate District 28 2017-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Ohio House of Representatives District 34 2007-2014 |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Ohio House of Representatives District 44 1983-2000 |
Succeeded by - |
