Jan-Michele Kearney | |
|---|---|
| Vice Mayor ofCincinnati | |
| Assumed office January 2022 | |
| Mayor | Aftab Pureval |
| Preceded by | Christopher Smitherman |
| Member of theCincinnati City Council | |
| Assumed office March 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Tamaya Dennard |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jean–Michelle Lemon Cincinnati,Ohio, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Eric Kearney |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Dartmouth College (BA) Harvard University (MA) Harvard Law School (J.D.) |
Jan-Michelle Lemon Kearney[1] is an American businesswoman, attorney, and politician currently serving asVice Mayor ofCincinnati, a position she has held since January 2022. ADemocrat, she has been a member of theCincinnati City Council since March 2020. She co-founded and has run KGL Media Group, Inc. dba Sesh Communications, the publisher ofThe Cincinnati Herald.
Kearney grew up in theAvondale neighborhood ofCincinnati.[1] She is the daughter of Luther J. Lemon (who worked as a familyphysician) and Elizabeth M. Lemon who worked as a teacher inCincinnati Public Schools.[2] Kearney was educated in the Cincinnati Public Schools,[3] She attendedelementary school at Rockdale Elementary School,[1][4][3] and high school at Walnut Hills High School.[4]
Kearney received three degrees from twoIvy League universities in herpost-secondary education. She first graduated collegecum laude with an undergrad degree fromDartmouth College.[3][4] During her time as a Dartmouth student, she participated in anstudent exchange program, completing a portion of her degree atTalladega College (anHBCU that her father had graduated from).[3] Kearney next received two degrees fromHarvard University. She first received amaster's degree in counseling and consulting psychology from Harvard. She next attendedHarvard Law School, where she graduated with ajuris doctor.[3] At Harvard Law School, she was classmates and acquaintances withBarack Obama (who would years later, in 2008, be elected U.S. President).[3][4] Kearney was elected first class marshal of her law school graduating class, and delivered thecommencement speech at their graduation ceremony.[3]
Kearney practiced as a lawyer at theTaft Stettinius & Hollister firm before departing and becoming an independent attorney.[3]
Around the time she became an independent attorney, she also established the multimedia publishing company KGL Media Group, Inc. dba Sesh Communications. As of 2025[update], the company owns several newspapers and magazines, includingThe Cincinnati Herald,The Dayton Defender,The North Kentucky Herald, andseshPRIME Magazine.[3]The Cincinnati Herald has a large black readership. Her role as publisher of the newspaper aided Kearney in establishing herself as an influential individual within Cincinnati'sAfrican American community and the city's overall politics. She was a major player in Cincinnati politics decades before becoming a political officeholder in 2020.[5]
Kearney was also previously a co-host on theWLWT programs "Issues" and "Let’s Talk Cincinnati". She helped found the Greater Cincinnati Association of Black Journalists (aa local chapter of theNational Association of Black Journalists), and co-chaired theNational Newspaper Publishers Association's 2019 national convention.[3]
Since March 2020, Kearney (a member of theDemocratic Party) has served as a member of theCincinnati City Council.[4] She first joined after being appointed to fill a seat vacated byTamaya Dennard after Dennard's federal arrest for charges ofbribery (charges which ultimately resulted in a conviction).[1][4]
Kearney won re-election in November 2021, receiving the most votes of any city council candidate on a crowded race for nineat-large seats.[1][4] She received 28,672 votes, 1,676 more than the second-place candidate,Greg Landsman (a Democrat who had been on the council since 2017). This was regarded to have been a surprise, as Landsman's longerincumbency had led many to expect him to receive the more vote than Kearney.[5][6]
In November 2021,Aftab Pureval (the mayor-elect) announced that he would be appointing Kearney to serve as Vice Mayor at the start of his term. The city's vice mayor (appointed by a mayor) substitutes in fulfilling mayoral duties when a mayor cannot perform them, including when a mayor is out of town or incapacitated.[1] Pureval and Kearney were seen as ideologically well-aligned with one another.[4]
In 2022, Purevel re-appointed Kearney to continue a second year as vice mayor.[7]
Kearney was re-elected to the council in 2023, again placing first among candidates in the at-large election.[8]
In October 2024, Kearney disclosed that she would not be a candidate for mayorin 2025.[9] She announced she was instead seeking another term on the council.[8] She was re-elected to the council for a third term, once again placing first among candidates in the at-large election.[10]
Kearney has served on the board of theCincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden.[3]
Kearney is married toEric Kearney, a former member of theOhio Senate. They have two children.[4]