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 and earned a B.A. in English from Dartmouth College. He received his J.D. from the University Of Cincinnati College Of Law. He is married to Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney Esq. and they have two children, Celeste and Asher. In 2004 the Kearney family was honored as the Black Family Reunion’s “Family of the Year.”

Prior to joining the Ohio Senate, Senator Kearney founded Sesh Communications—one of the largest African American owned publishing companies, which publishes The Cincinnati Herald, The Northern Kentucky Herald, and The Dayton Defender. He also practiced law with Strauss & Troy, LLP and later became a partner with the Cincinnati law firm Cohen, Todd, Kite & Stanford, LLC.

Senator Kearney was appointed Senator of the 9th District in December of 2005. In November 2010, the citizens of Cincinnati showed their strong approval of his leadership by electing to keep Kearney in the Ohio Senate for a second time. In his service to Ohio’s General Assembly, Senator Kearney has championed the issues of small business development, child safety, healthy choices, and crime prevention.

He created a loan program granting financial assistance for families seeking to adopt that was recently signed into law. He also introduced legislation assisting homeowners with the financial costs of removing dangerous lead paint from their homes. He was a leader in supporting legislation that led to Ohio’s booster seat law. This law requires that children be restrained in booster seats in automobiles. In his quest to continue the fight for children’s issues, he passed 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. Each year, Senator Kearney embarks on a 110-mile walk from Cincinnati to Columbus to bring attention to children’s health issues.
 

Senator Kearney is the Ranking Minority Member of the Senate Financial Institutions Committee and the Judiciary Committee. He is also a member of the Finance Committee, Insurance, Commerce & Labor Committee and Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources.
 

Senator Eric H. Kearney represents parts of Cincinnati, St. Bernard, Elmwood Place, Cleves, Cheviot, Norwood, Golf Manor, Columbia Township, Deer Park, Silverton, Springfield Township, North Bend and Addyston.
 

The Ohio Statehouse

Columbus, Ohio 43215

Phone: (614) 466-5980

SD09@senate.state.oh.us