C.J. Prentiss | |
---|---|
Member of the Ohio Senate from the 21st district | |
In office January 5, 1999 –December 31, 2006 | |
Preceded by | Jeff Johnson |
Succeeded by | Shirley Smith |
Member of the OhioHouseofRepresentatives from the 8th district | |
In office January 3,1991 –December 31,1998 | |
Preceded by | Ike Thompson |
Succeeded by | Shirley Smith |
Personal details | |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Michael Charney [1] |
Carolyn J. Prentiss [1] is an American politician of the Democratic party who served in the Ohio State Senate from 1999 until 2007. During the 126th Ohio General Assembly,she served as Minority Leader.
Prentiss grew up in Cleveland,Ohio in an activist family. Her father worked with the Future Outlook League,which was critical in mobilizing the Black community and increasing Black employment. He was assaulted trying to integrate an amusement park during the Euclid Beach Park Riot [2] of 1946. C. J. attended the March on Washington in 1963 along with her mother.
She earned a bachelor of arts degree and a master's degree in education from Cleveland State University. She holds a post-graduate certificate in Administration from Kent State University. She attended the advanced management program at Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management.
In 1976,Prentiss was one of the only Black women integrally involved in Ohio’s Cuyahoga Women’s Political Caucus,which at the time was primarily composed of white women. Next,Prentiss became a delegate to the Democratic Convention for Jesse Jackson in 1984, [3] and then became co-chair of the Cleveland Rainbow Coalition. [4]
From 1985 to 1990,Prentiss served on the Ohio State Board of Education. Known in Columbus as "the highest ranking African-American education lawmaker in the state of Ohio, [5] " Prentiss served eight years in the Ohio State House of Representatives (8th district) before serving eight years in the Ohio State Senate (21st district). While in the Ohio State Senate,Prentiss represented constituents of Bratenahl,Brooklyn Heights,Cleveland Heights,Cuyahoga Heights,East Cleveland,Newburgh Heights and University Heights. She served as minority whip (during the 125th General Assembly),Senate Minority Leader,was the first female president of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus (OLBC),and was the second African-American woman to serve as the Democratic leader in the Ohio Senate (after Rhine McLIn).
Prentiss was on numerous committees and consistently advocated for those most underserved. She spearheaded significant legislation that helped to decrease the Black-white academic achievement gap,she obtained funding for all-day kindergarten and reduced class sizes,and she worked tirelessly to improve education for students of all races. Under her leadership,the NBCSL published Closing the Achievement Gap:Improving Educational Outcomes for African American Children, [6] which helped to put the achievement gap on the national agenda.
Prentiss was also on the founding board of directors for the nonpartisan economic policy group Policy Matters Ohio. [7]
She was also chosen to be the Special Education Adviser to Ohio Governor Ted Strickland in 2007.
Prentiss appeared on the pilot episode of 30 Days discussing living on minimum wage.
She was a candidate in the special election to replace Stephanie Tubbs-Jones in the 110th Congress but withdrew before the Primary. [8]
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Daniel R. Brady of Cleveland,Ohio,is an American politician of the Democratic party. Brady holds a bachelor of arts degree in history and political science from Ohio University. An early staff member of Ohio Citizen Action,Brady was a member of the Cleveland City Council from 1986 to 1996. Brady was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1996 and served one term. He was elected to the Ohio Senate in 1998. In 2001,he was elected Senate minority whip by the Democratic caucus. In 2010 he was elected to the inaugural Cuyahoga County Council representing the 3rd District on Cleveland's near west side.
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Nina Hudson Turner is an American politician and television personality. A member of the Democratic Party,she was a Cleveland City Council member from 2006 to 2008 and a member of the Ohio Senate from 2008 until 2014. Turner was the Democratic nominee for Ohio Secretary of State in 2014,but lost in the general election against incumbent Jon Husted,receiving 35.5 percent of the vote. A self-described democratic socialist,her politics have been variously described as progressive,left-wing,or far-left.
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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 Mike DeWine set the primary date for August 3,concurrent with the special election in Ohio's 15th congressional district. The general election was on November 2. Shontel Brown won both the competitive Democratic primary and the general election,and was sworn in on November 4.
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