Sykes served two terms on Akron City Council before his appointment to the House of Representatives in 1983. He has also served on the faculty at Kent State University as an assistant professor of political science, and as assistant professor of social science at the University of Akron. Sykes first served in the House of Representatives in 1983, and served until 2000, when he faced term limits. He was replaced in 2001 by his wife, Barbara Sykes. In 2006, Barbara Sykes decided to run for state auditor, and Vernon sought the seat again. First facing Patrick Bravo in the Democratic primary, he won with 77.64% of the vote. While heavily favored, Sykes faced DUI charges during the primary election campaign, somewhat dampening his chances. He won the general election against Joseph D. Crawford with 80.78% of the vote. In his first reelection campaign, Sykes ran unopposed. In the 128th General Assembly, Speaker of the HouseArmond Budish appointed Sykes as Chairman of the HouseFinance Committee. With the 2010 election, Sykes won a third term over Republican Josh Sines and Libertarian Kurtis Liston by taking 77.66% of the vote. With the Democrats again in the minority, Sykes serves on the committees of Finance and Appropriations, Local Government, and State Government and Elections. Sykes won reelection in 2012, defeating his opponent Ronya Jeanette Habash and earning over 80% of the vote. He was term-limited again in 2014 and succeeded by his daughter, Emilia Sykes.
Ohio Senate
In 2016, state Senator Thomas C. Sawyer, who had represented Akron in some facet for nearly half a century, was term-limited. While Sykes initially was not seen as a successor, he eventually declared his intentions to run for the seat. Unopposed in the primary, he faced Republican Jonathan Schulz in the general election. Sykes would win election to the seat by a 61% to 39% margin. He was sworn in on January 3, 2017.
Initiatives and positions
As ranking member of the House Finance Committee, Sykes has been critical of Governor John Kasich's privatization measure for the Ohio Department of Development, stating the measure to replace it, JobsOhio, was abdicating too much legislative authority to the executive branch. "This is a new entity and we're trying to make sure we have proper oversight in place." The former chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Sykes has come out against Kasich's biennium budget plan for 2012–2013, stating that he is especially troubled by the cuts proposed to local government, and plans to privatize several state prisons. He stated that he feels as if he has already been shut out of the budget process. Sykes is a member of the budget conference committee.
