Updated December 8, 2021, 9:41 PM ET
Democrats in the Ohio House will meet soon to select a new head of their caucus, with minority leader Emilia Sykes' announcement she is stepping down at the end of the year after three years in that position.
The 35-year-old Sykes of Akron is a lawyer with a master's in public health and next year is term-limited. She said in her statement that she’s not stepping away from service – “far from it”, and that she’s considering any and all options, in elected office or as a private citizen.
Change coming at the Ohio Statehouse: House Minority Leader @EmiliaSykesOH to step down from that post at the end of this month. pic.twitter.com/TyAEnT5i3h
— Karen Kasler (@karenkasler) December 8, 2021
In an interview a year ago, Sykes described herself as a “reluctant legislator” who didn’t have a path to higher office planned out.
“If there’s an opportunity that presents itself and I feel like I can win, I can do a good job, I can continue to serve people effectively, then I’ll certainly look into it,” she said in 2020.
Sykes worked to get cameras into House committee rooms, a project that had been discussed for years. Sykes has sponsored and backed bills on increasing gun regulations, dating violence and the gender pay gap.
Sykes spoke out on issues involving racism, including the resolutions to declare racism a public health crisis and the racial health gap, and asked for an investigation after she said she was unfairly singled out by Statehouse security.
Sykes took over after a shakeup among House Democrats in January 2019. Then-minority leader Fred Strahorn stepped down after backing incumbent Republican Ryan Smith for speaker, while Sykes and most of the House Democratic caucus worked with and backed Larry Householder, who won.
Householder was removed from leadership after being arrested in the nuclear bailout corruption scandal last year and was expelled from the House this year.
Sykes is widely considered to be preparing to run for the 13th Congressional district. That's thought to be one of the competitive districts in the newly drawn map. Max Miller, a former aide to President Trump, is already running for the Republican nomination, after first attempting to challenge Rep, Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH 16), who voted for Trump's impeachment earlier this year. But Gonzalez announced he wouldn't seek re-election, and Miller's residence was drawn into the new 13th district.
A Sykes has served in the House seat representing the Akron area since 1983. Vernon Sykes, now in his second Senate term, served in the House from 1983 to 2000 and left because of term limits. His wife Barbara served till 2006, when Vernon Sykes then won the seat again. Emilia Sykes, their daughter, succeeded her father in 2015.
Emilia and Vernon Sykes both served on the Ohio Redistricting Commission this year.
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