Jon Carpenter is an American politician who represented Missouri's 15th district in Kansas City's Northland and was elected in 2012 to the

Missouri House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...

. Carpenter owns a marketing and advertising firm. He is also a member of the Gladstone Area Chamber of Commerce and the Northland Democratic Club. In 2020, he ran for the Clay County Commission Western and won by a narrow margin.

Early life

Carpenter attended St. Charles grade school, and St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Kansas City, Missouri. At

North Kansas City High School North Kansas City High School (also known as NKCHS, NKC, and Northtown) is a high school in North Kansas City, Missouri, United States, with over 1,900 students enrolled. It is a part of the North Kansas City School District. The first graduating ...

, his hard work and determination earned him a spot as a

National Merit Scholar The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships. The program is managed by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a privately funded not-for-profit ...

and he received a scholarship to the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. While at school in Los Angeles, Carpenter interned for four-term U.S. Senator

Dianne Feinstein Dianne Emiel Feinstein (; June 22, 1933 – September 29, 2023) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from California from 1992 until her death in 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as the 38th ...

. He served as Financial Director and later President of the USC College Democrats. He graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Political Science and a minor in International Relations. After graduation, he returned to the state and married his wife Midori. Together, they started Carpenter Communications, a marketing and advertising firm that partners with local businesses and nonprofit organizations.

Electoral career

In 2012, Carpenter defeated Carol Suter and Shon Adamson in the Democratic primary to win the Democratic nomination. Carpenter then went on to defeat Republican Kevin Corlew by 9294 votes to 7251 votes. In 2016, Carpenter was reelected after running unopposed in both the Democratic primary and the general election. In 2018, Carpenter ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and went on to defeat the controversial and notoriously anti- Semitic Republican candidate Steve West by receiving 9261 votes to West's 5398 votes. Currently, Carpenter is the Western Commissioner for

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Fl ...

. He was on the ballot in the Democratic primary on August 4, 2020. According to the

Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and a ...

, " arpenterwants to get the county leadership refocused on its fundamental responsibilities: infrastructure and funding for public safety and social services."

Legislative career

As a state legislator, Carpenter served on the Missouri House of Representatives' Administrative Oversight Committee, the General Laws Committee, and the Special Committee on Government Oversight, and served as the Ranking Minority Member on the Professional Registration and Licensing Committee in 2020.

References

External links

*
Legislative website
Living people Democratic Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives Year of birth missing (living people) University of Southern California alumni Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century members of the Missouri General Assembly {{Missouri-MORepresentative-stub