Jon Hoadley


Jon Hoadley is a Democratic politician from Michigan who represents the 60th District—which includes the entire City of Kalamazoo and the majority of Kalamazoo Township—in the Michigan House of Representatives after being elected in November 2014. Hoadley was re-elected in November 2016. On April 8, 2019, Hoadley announced that he will be challenging incumbent Republican Rep. Fred Upton in the 2020 election for U.S. Representative from Michigan's 6th congressional district.

Personal life

Hoadley was born on August 14, 1983 to Michael and Diane Hoadley, and has an older sister, Sara Hoadley Anderson. He grew up in Vermillion, South Dakota. After high school, he moved to Michigan and graduated from Michigan State University.
Hoadley maintains a number of professional and personal affiliations. Currently, Hoadley serves on the Mothers of Hope board of directors, a local organization supporting women and their families in recovery for addiction related issues. He also serves on the board of the Michigan Democratic Party Justice Caucus and the Kalamazoo County Democratic Party Executive Board. He previously served on the board of directors of CARES, a local HIV/AIDS direct service organization. He also served on the Michigan Democratic Party's Executive Committee and on the board of the state party’s Justice Caucus.
Hoadley is currently a member of the following membership organizations: ACLU of Michigan, UAW Local 1981, Sierra Club of Michigan, Progressive Women's Caucus, League of Women Voters Kalamazoo Area, Metropolitan Kalamazoo Branch of the NAACP, and Black Arts and Cultural Center.
Hoadley is an openly gay man and lives in Kalamazoo—where he has lived since 2009—with his partner, Kris.

Professional life

Hoadley has been involved in LGBT and progressive political advocacy since college, and has worked on political campaigns since 2004. He has worked for the Gill Action Fund, managed the campaign opposing South Dakota Amendment C, and served as executive director of the National Stonewall Democrats. Currently, he serves on the Michigan Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
Prior to his election to the Michigan Legislature, he became president and owner of Badlands Strategies, a progressive public affairs consulting firm. During this time he managed a local campaign to defend Kalamazoo's local non-discrimination ordinance, and assisted with a similar campaign in Royal Oak. He also managed the campaign to elect Justice Bridget Mary McCormack and worked with the Unity Michigan Coalition.
He was elected to serve the 60th District in the Michigan House of Representatives in November 2014 and re-elected in November 2016.
In his first term in the Michigan House of Representatives, he served on the House Elections Committee and the House Appropriations Committee, where he is the Democratic vice chair of the Judiciary and Agriculture subcommittees and also sits on the Higher Education subcommittee.
In his second term in the Michigan House of Representatives, he serves on the Appropriations Committee. He is the Democratic vice chair of the Higher Education and Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development subcommittees. He also serves on the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Subcommittee.

2014 elections

Hoadley defeated David Buskirk and Pamela Brown Goodacre in the Democratic primary for the 60th District of the Michigan House of Representatives on August 5, 2014. He then went on to defeat Republican Party candidate Mike Perrin in the general election on November 4, 2014.

2016 elections

After being elected to his first term in November 2014, Representative Hoadley was unopposed in the 2016 Democratic Party Primary for the 60th District of the Michigan House of Representatives. He went on to defeat the Republican Party nominee, Kalamazoo College student Alexander Ross, and Libertarian Party nominee, activist Logan Fleckenstein, in the general election on November 8, 2016.

Honors and awards