John Kenneth Blackwell (born February 28, 1948) is an American politician, author, and conservative activist who served as the mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio (1979β80), the Ohio State Treasurer (1994β99), and Ohio Secretary of State (1999β2007). He was the Republican candidate for governor of Ohio in 2006, the first African-American major-party candidate for governor of Ohio. He is currently a Senior Fellow for Family Empowerment with The Family Research Council. He currently sits as Vice-President of the Executive Committee of the Council For National Policy and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.