Kionne McGhee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kionne McGhee
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| Member of the Miami-Dade County Commission from the 9th district |
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| Assumed office November 17, 2020 |
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| Preceded by | Dennis Moss |
| Minority Leader of the Florida House of Representatives | |
| In office November 19, 2018 – November 3, 2020 |
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| Preceded by | Janet Cruz |
| Succeeded by | Bobby DuBose Evan Jenne |
| Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 117th district |
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| In office November 6, 2012 – November 3, 2020 |
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| Preceded by | Redistricted |
| Succeeded by | Kevin Chambliss |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 23, 1977 Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Stacy McGhee |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Howard University (BS) Texas Southern University (JD) |
Kionne L. McGhee (born November 23, 1977) is an American politician from Florida. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Since 2020, he has been a part of the Miami-Dade County Commission. Before that, he served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2012 to 2020. He represented parts of south-central Miami-Dade County, including areas like Richmond Heights and Florida City. From 2018 to 2020, he was the House Minority Leader. This means he was the main leader for his political party in the Florida House.
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Early Life and Education
Kionne McGhee was born in Miami. He went to Howard University, where he studied political science and graduated in 2000. Later, he attended the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University. There, he earned a law degree, which is called a Juris Doctor.
After finishing his studies, McGhee wrote a book about his life called "A Mere I Can is American." He then started working as a lawyer for the state in Miami-Dade County.
Serving in the Florida House of Representatives
The Florida House of Representatives is a group of elected officials who make laws for the state of Florida.
First Election Campaigns
In 2010, McGhee first ran for a seat in the Florida House of Representatives. He ran in the 118th District in Miami-Dade County. He was in the Democratic primary election against the person who already held the seat, Dwight Bullard. It was a very close election, and McGhee lost by a small number of votes. He received 47% of the votes.
In 2012, the districts for the Florida House were changed. The 117th District was a new area that included much of the old 118th District. Since the previous representative, Dwight Bullard, ran for a different position, this seat was open. McGhee decided to run for this new district. He won the Democratic primary election easily, getting 65% of the votes. After that, he ran in the general election without any opponents and was elected to the Florida House of Representatives.
Important Issues and Votes
During his time in the Florida House, McGhee worked on several important issues.
In 2014, lawmakers discussed a bill that would let people carry guns without a license after leaving their homes during an emergency. McGhee voted against this bill. He believed it could lead to "local militias," which are groups of people acting like an army. The Miami Herald newspaper praised his vote, calling the bill "misguided."
Also in 2014, some lawmakers wanted to raise Florida's minimum wage. The minimum wage is the lowest amount of money an employer can pay workers per hour. The proposal was to raise it from $7.93 to $10.10 an hour. When the bill did not pass, McGhee and some other lawmakers decided to live on the minimum wage for a week. This meant they had to manage their money carefully to buy food and other necessities. TV cameras followed him as he bought groceries at a Publix store. This helped show people how hard it was to live on a minimum wage income.
McGhee served four terms in the Florida House. In 2020, he could not run for that seat again because of term limits. Term limits mean a person can only serve a certain number of times in a specific elected position.
Miami-Dade County Commission
After leaving the Florida House, McGhee ran for a seat on the Miami-Dade County Commission in 2020. This is a local government group that makes decisions for Miami-Dade County. The seat was open because the previous commissioner, Dennis Moss, also had term limits. McGhee won the election against Elvis Maldonado, who was a former commissioner from Homestead.
