Mark Okey

Mark Okey
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives from the 61st district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 2, 2007
Preceded by	John Boccieri
Personal details
Born	September 4, 1951 (1951-09-04) (age 60) Charleston, West Virginia
Political party	Democratic
Residence	Carrollton, Ohio
Alma mater	Kent State University, Ohio Northern University
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Catholic

Mark Okey is a Democratic member of the Ohio House of Representatives, representing the 61st District since 2007.

Career

Okey graduated from Glenwood High School, then from Kent State University with a bachelor’s degree in history. He went on subsequently to earn a law degree from Ohio Northern University in 1976, and went on to establish the Okey Law Firm, LLC.

Ohio House of Representatives

When John Boccieri opted to run for the Ohio Senate in 2006 and forgo a fourth term in the Ohio House, Okey sought to succeed him. Unopposed in the primary, Okey went on to face Republican Brant Luther in the general election, and won with 56.95% of the electorate.^[1] In his first term, Okey served as a member of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, Education Committee, Judiciary Committee, and the Public Utilities Committee.

In 2008, Okey ran for a second term, and won with 60.6% of the vote against Republican Kirk Susany and independent Paul Ray.^[2] With Democrats now in the majority, Speaker of the House Armond Budish appointed Okey as Chairman of the Civil and Commercial Law Committee, and Vice Chairman of the Elections and Ethics Committee, as well as a member of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, the Judiciary Committee and the Public Utilities Committee.

Again running for reelection in 2010, Okey faced primary opposition in fellow Democrat Brian Simeone, but won the nomination with 72.97% of the vote.^[3] In his toughest campaign yet, Okey defeated Republican Michael Foit by only 1,600 votes, or with 52.3% of the electorate.^[4] He was sworn into his third term on January 3, 2011, and is serving on the committees of Judiciary and Ethics; and Local Government.^[5]

Positions and initiatives

In his third term, Okey has signed on to repeal the Ohio estate tax, the sole Democrat to do so.

He has become an opponent of Matt Huffman's proposal to ask voters in the November 8 election to raise Ohio's retirement age for judges seeking election from 70 to 75. "I don't think the system is broken," he said. "If the system is not broken why does this warrant a change in the Constitution?"

References

1. ^ 2006 general election results
2. ^ 2008 general election results
3. ^ 2010 primary election results
4. ^ 2010 general election results
5. ^ Valley Democrats lose top spots on Ohio Legislature committees

External links

• The Ohio House of Representatives: Representative Mark D. Okey (D-Carrollton) official site

Persondata
Name	Okey, Mark
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	September 4, 1951
Place of birth	Charleston, West Virginia
Date of death
Place of death