State Representative Michael J. Skindell (D-Cleveland) of the 13th District is currently serving his fourth term as the voice of his constituents in Lakewood and parts of Cleveland’s west side.
Rep. Skindell has long respected the laws of the state of Ohio – both how they are made, and how they are enforced. After graduating cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in business and political science from Walsh College, Skindell earned his law degree from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.
Upon graduation from law school, Rep. Skindell served as an Assistant Ohio Attorney General under Attorney General Anthony J. Celebrezze, Jr. He provided legal representation to the Director of Health and appeared before administrative agencies and state and federal courts. Between 1989 and 1999, Rep. Skindell served as a hearing officer for the Ohio Department of Health, presiding over nearly 300 cases of resident abuse and rights violations in nursing homes. He also started a private practice that continues today, representing consumers.
Rep. Skindell has turned the bulk of his attention, though, to public service. He represented the people of Lakewood as a Councilman at Large between 1998 and 2002. He served as chairman of the Council’s Rules and Ordinances Committee, and he was a member of the Finance, Housing and Public Works Committees.
At the Statehouse, Rep. Skindell has advocated for greater consumer protection, affordable prescription drugs and utility costs, preserving the environment, economic opportunities for working families and the poor, universal health care and the development of Ohio's renewable energy resources. He played a key role in crafting the 2007-2008 budget that passed with just one dissenting vote.
Rep. Skindell is Chairman of the Joint Commission on Agency Rule Review, and is Vice Chair of the Ohio House Consumer and Economic Protection Committee. He is also a member of the Civil and Commercial Law Committee, the Finance Committee and its Transportation Subcommittee and the Judiciary Committee.
Rep. Skindell is a member of the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators, as well as the Council of State Government's Midwestern Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee. He is a member of the Board of Single Payer Action Network Ohio, which advocates for universal health care, and he served on the Biofuels and Renewable Energy Task Force in the 125th General Assembly.
The Ohio Environmental Council recognized Rep. Skindell as its 2004 Environmental Legislator of the Year. He has received a Special Award of Recognition from the Ohio Primary Care Association for his advocacy for Ohio's community health centers, the 2007 Legislative Champion of Children Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics and Voices for Ohio Children, and the 2007 Legislator of the Year award from the Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers.
Back at home, Rep. Skindell serves on the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce, the Lakewood Democratic Club and the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party. He is a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Barton Senior Center and Westerly Senior Apartments in Lakewood and the Lakewood Jaycees, where he served as president in 1999. Rep. Skindell was honored by the citizens of Ohio's 10th Congressional District to serve as an alternate delegate to the 2000 Democratic Convention in Los Angeles.
