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Senator Eric H. Kearney serves as Minority Leader of the Ohio Senate and represents the 9th Senate District. A life-long Cincinnatian, he is a graduate of St. Xavier High School. He earned an A.B. in English from Dartmouth College (where he was president of Casque and Gauntlet Senior Honor Society). He received his J.D. from the University Of Cincinnati, College Of Law (where he was president of the Student Bar Association).
Prior to joining the Ohio Senate, Senator Kearney founded Sesh Communications – one of the largest African-American publishing companies, which publishes The Cincinnati Herald, The Northern Kentucky Herald, and the Dayton Defender. He also practiced law with two of Cincinnati’s most prestigious law firms. He is licensed to practice in the state of Ohio and before the United States Supreme Court. He has a number of reported cases in such areas as term limits for elected officials, testing in independent schools, and the 1st Amendment and contractual rights. He is the Special Master/Trustee in U.S. District Court of the $20 Million Fernald II Workers’ Settlement Fund.
Senator Kearney was appointed Senator of the 9th District in December of 2005. In November 2006 and 2010, the citizens showed their strong approval of his leadership by electing to keep Kearney in the Ohio Senate. He was elected Minority Leader in 2012.
In his service to Ohio’s General Assembly, Senator Kearney has championed the issues of small business development, child safety and healthy choices, by working in a principled, bi-partisan manner. For example, he created a loan program granting financial assistance for families seeking to adopt. He sponsored legislation to allow taxpayers to transmit tax refunds directly to their savings accounts. Joining with then – Senate President Tom Niehaus, Senator Kearney sponsored legislation to reform and stabilize Ohio’s five pension systems. In his quest to continue the fight for children’s issues, he sponsored Senate Bill 210: Healthy Choices for Healthy Children, which focuses on decreasing and preventing childhood obesity in Ohio schools through a combination of exercise, healthy foods, and education. For seven consecutive years, he has led a 107-mile walk from Cincinnati to Columbus to bring attention to children’s health issues.
Senator Kearney served on President Barack Obama’s National Finance Committee for both of his presidential campaigns and his United States Senate campaign.
He is a member of Sigma Pi Phi, Alpha Delta Boulé and the University Club of Cincinnati. He has traveled to Honduras, Israel, Canada, France and several other countries in Europe.
He is married to Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney, Esq. who is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School. The Kearneys have two children.
Senator Eric H. Kearney represents Cincinnati, Hollydale, St. Bernard, Elmwood Place, Norwood, Golf Manor, North College Hill, Mt. Healthy, Wyoming, Lincoln Heights, Silverton, Springfield Township.