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Ken Blackwell
| Ken Blackwell | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Organization: | Family Research Council |
| Role: | Senior Fellow |
| Education: | Xavier University |
John Kenneth "Ken" Blackwell is a political activist, author, media contributor, former elected official, and former political appointee.[1] Blackwell was also a member of Donald Trump's presidential transition team, a group of advisors tasked with recommending presidential appointments for the incoming administration.[2]
Career
Blackwell is an Ohio native and holds a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Education degree from Cincinnati's Xavier University. He also holds honorary doctoral degrees from several Ohio colleges.[3]
Blackwell served as the mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio from 1979 to 1980 as a member of the Charter Party. He later joined the Republican Party.[4]
From 1989 to 1990, Blackwell was a deputy undersecretary in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He was appointed by President George H.W. Bush.
After an unsuccessful bid for congress, Blackwell was appointed to be a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Commission, where he served from 1992 to 1993.[4]
In 1993, Blackwell was appointed by then-governor George Voinovich to be Ohio's Treasurer. He was elected to the position in 1994 and served as treasurer until he was elected to serve as Ohio Secretary of State in 1998. Blackwell worked as the Secretary of State until 2007.[4]
Blackwell ran for Governor of Ohio in 2006 and was the first African-American to represent a major political party as an Ohio gubernatorial candidate. He lost the election to Ted Strickland.[1]
As of November 2016, Blackwell was a Senior Fellow for Human Rights and Constitutional Governance at the Family Research Council, the Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow for Public Policy at the Buckeye Institute in Ohio, and a visiting fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and the American Civil Rights Union. As of November 2016, Blackwell also chaired the Coalition for a Conservative Majority, and served on the National Rifle Association’s Public Affairs Committee.[3][5]
Publications
Blackwell has written the following three books: Rebuilding America: A Prescription For Creating Strong Families, Building The Wealth Of Working People, And Ending Welfare; The Blueprint: Obama’s Plan to Subvert the Constitution and Build an Imperial Presidency; and Resurgent: How Constitutional Conservatism Can Save America. He is also a contributor to both newspaper and television outlets, which include the following: The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, CBS’s Face the Nation, NBC's Meet the Press, ABC’s This Week, and Fox News Sunday.[6] He is also a contributing editor and columnist for the conservative Townhall.com and a commentator for the Salem Radio Network.[3]
Donald Trump presidential transition team, 2016-2017
Blackwell was a member of Donald Trump's presidential transition team in his first presidential term. The transition team was a group of around 100 aides, policy experts, government affairs officials, and former government officials who were tasked with vetting, interviewing, and recommending individuals for top cabinet and staff roles in Trump's administration. He was tasked with overseeing domestic issues, including those that would involve the departments of energy, labor, transportation, health and human services, housing and urban development, interior, and agriculture, and the Environmental Protection Agency.[1]
See also
- Family Research Council
- Buckeye Institute
- Texas Public Policy Foundation
- Donald Trump presidential transition team
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Columbus Dispatch, "Trump Names Ken Blackwell to Transition Team," accessed November 15, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Lobbyists abound on Trump transition," November 10, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Politico, "Bio: Ken Blackwell," accessed November 15, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Ohio History Central, "Kenneth Blackwell," accessed November 15, 2016
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedFRC - ↑ Family Research Council, "Ken Blackwell," accessed November 15, 2016
