Ken Russell (politician)

Ken Joseph Russell (born June 24, 1973) is an American politician and yo-yo champion from the state of Florida. A member of the Democratic Party, he served on the Miami City Commission from 2015 to 2022.

Ken Russell
Member of the Miami City Commission
from the 2nd district
In office
November 25, 2015 – December 29, 2022
Preceded byMarc Sarnoff
Succeeded bySabina Covo
Personal details
Born (1973-06-24) June 24, 1973
Coral Gables, Florida, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseJuliana Benedini
Children2
EducationUniversity of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (BS)

Early life and career

Russell was born in Doctors Hospital in Coral Gables, Florida,[1] and raised in Coconut Grove and Key Biscayne. Russell's father, Jack, was an international yo-yo champion and developed a patent on his brand of yo-yo.[2] Jack worked for the Duncan Toys Company before breaking off to start his own.[3] His mother, Kazuyo, was Japan's national yo-yo champion.[4] The family moved from Miami to Stuart, Florida, after Hurricane David in 1979.[1] Russell graduated from Martin County High School in 1991.[5]

When he was 15 years old, Russell became a professional and went on international yo-yo tours.[4] He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[4] He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. After graduating, he went to work for his family's company.[2][6] After the business suffered during the Great Recession, Russell opened a watersports store.[7]

Political career

Russell became involved in local politics in 2013 when he and other residents of Coconut Grove insisted that the city remove, rather than cover, toxic soil from a park.[1] In 2015, Russell ran to represent District 2 on the Miami City Commission; incumbent Marc Sarnoff was prevented from running again due to term limits.[6][8] Russell won the election with 42 percent; though he did not earn enough votes to automatically avoid a runoff, the second place finisher withdrew from the race.[9][10] He announced in October 2017 that he would run for the U.S. House of Representatives for Florida's 27th congressional district in the 2018 elections,[11] but he withdrew his candidacy in April 2018.[12] He was reelected to a second term on the city commission in 2019.[1]

In 2021, Russell announced that he would run for the U.S. Senate in the 2022 election.[13][14] After determining that Val Demings was likely to win the Democratic nomination in the Senate race, he switched his candidacy to the U.S. House of Representatives for Florida's 27th district in May 2022.[15] Russell lost the primary election on August 23 to Annette Taddeo.[16]

Russell resigned from the Miami City Commission to run for Congress. He initially chose to resign effective January 3, 2023, but left office on December 29, 2022.[17]

Personal life

Russell and his wife, Juliana, have two daughters.[18]

References
  1. "Ken Russell's political journey from concerned resident to Congressional candidate - South Florida Media Network". Sfmn.fiu.edu. June 24, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  2. Lipscomb, Jessica (November 15, 2016). "Yo-Yo King and Commissioner Ken Russell Cleans Up Miami". Miami New Times. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  3. Brown, Steve (January 4, 2016). "Ken Russell – From YoYos to Politics". YoYoNews. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  4. "Yo-yo pro: UNC student can walk the dog from a standstill". The Chapel Hill Herald. June 21, 1995. pp. 1, 2. Retrieved July 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Kilier, Ed (December 1, 2005). "Skimming the waves". The Stuart News. p. C4. Retrieved July 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Smiley, David (October 18, 2015). "Yo-yo maven emerges as dark-horse candidate". Miami Herald. p. A3. Retrieved July 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Bein, Kat (May 8, 2015). "Ken Russell Relates Yo-Yo Business to Politics, Presenting on "Power" at Lip Service". Miami New Times. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  8. Bach, Trevor (March 23, 2015). "Race to Replace Sarnoff Heats Up as Park Activist Ken Russell Joins the Fray". Miami New Times. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  9. Smiley, David (November 12, 2015). "From written-off to victory: How Russell shocked Miami". The Miami Herald. pp. 1A, 2A. Retrieved July 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Teresa Sarnoff Concedes Miami Commission Election – NBC 6 South Florida". Nbcmiami.com. November 5, 2015. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  11. Daugherty, Alex (October 14, 2017). "Miami commissioner Ken Russell joins race to replace Ros-Lehtinen | Naked Politics". The Miami Herald. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  12. Smiley, David (April 12, 2018). "Lone Hispanic Democrat running to replace Ileana Ros-Lehtinen drops out of race". Miami Herald. p. 4A. Retrieved July 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. Alvarado, Francisco (November 7, 2021). "Can Ken Russell Get to Washington?". Biscayne Times. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  14. Flechas, Joey; Daugherty, Alex (June 4, 2021). "Miami Commissioner Ken Russell says he'll run to challenge Marco Rubio for U.S. Senate". Miami Herald. Retrieved July 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Miami Democrat Ken Russell switching from US Senate race to Congress". WPLG. May 1, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  16. Flechas, Joey. "Annette Taddeo wins Democratic primary, will challenge Salazar for congressional seat". Miami Herald. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  17. Flechas, Joey (December 29, 2022). "Miami commissioner resigns a few days early, leaving District 2 seat open in New Year". Miami Herald. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  18. "New Miami City Commissioner Russell Assumes Office". Miami Herald. November 29, 2015. p. 4SE. Retrieved July 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
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