Blackwell 1st black named state treasurer in Ohio

Jet, March 7, 1994

J. Kenneth Blackwell, highly regarded Cincinnati Republican, was recently appointed state treasurer by Ohio Gov. George Voinovich. Blackwell is the first Black to hold a non-judicial statewide office in Ohio.

Blackwell began his career in politics in 1977 when he was elected to the Cincinnati City Council as a Charterite. During the following 10 years, Blackwell was elected to City Council six times, where he served as both mayor and vice mayor of Cincinnati.

He will serve out the remainder of the term of Democrat Mary Ellen Withrow and then seek a four-year term as state treasurer in November.

A native of Cincinnati, Blackwell earned a bachelor's degree in educational psychology and a master's in counseling psychology from Xavier University.