Joe McNamara
At Large (D)
joe.mcnamara@toledo.oh.gov
Committees served:
Community and Neighborhood Development - Chair
Human Resources - Vice Chair
Finance and Budget
Information Services - Alternate
Intergovernmental Relations
Law and Criminal Justice
Youth, Parks and Recreation
Joe McNamara was elected as the newest member of Toledo City Council on November 8, 2006, and was sworn in to office on November 28th by long time family friend and mentor Justice Andy Douglas. He was born in Toledo on March 29, 1977 to Daniel G. McNamara and Jill B. Kelly. His childhood was spent on Platt Street on the East side of Toledo where he attended Sacred Heart Elementary School.
When Joe was six, he and his father were involved in a tragic car accident. Joe was left unharmed but his father was fatally injured. The respect that so many Toledoans felt for Dan McNamara as person and public servant inspired in Joe a strong need to live up to the example set by his father.
Growing up, Joe’s mother worked as a magistrate in family court and was remarried to Mike Ordway - a metallurgist for Jeep and a proud member of the UAW. Joe's stepfather passed away when Joe was in high school.
Joe attended the University of Michigan where he received a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction in English in 1999. That summer he attended Oxford University in England, studying Foundations of Law.
After working for a market research firm in Chicago following graduation, Joe enrolled in the New York University School of Law where he was active with several groups including the Unemployment Action Center, dedicated to advocating for the unemployed and disenfranchised, the Public Service Auction, an event to raise money for law students who wish to pursue careers in public interest law, and was the Senior Development Editor for the NYU Journal of Legislation and Public Policy.
During summer break in 2001 Joe served as an intern for Ohio Supreme Court Justice Andy Douglas. That summer the decade old school funding case, DeRolph v. State of Ohio, was before the Court. Later that summer Joe interned with the City of Toledo Law Department. The following summer Joe worked as a clerk for the New York office of the international law firm Dewey Ballantine, LLP where he was offered a full time position after graduation. But Joe was set on returning to Toledo and took an offer with Cooper and Walinski, LPA where he represented some of Toledo’s largest companies and fought to protect Toledo jobs. His also successfully defended voting rights against Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, working on behalf of several labor unions and the Ohio Democratic Party.
Joe is a resident of west Toledo. His commitment to service is evidenced by his work as a Trustee for the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, Board Member of the Greater Toledo Urban League, Inc., and Secretary of the Lucas County Young Democrats. Joe also is a member of the Aspiring Minds of Toledo, the Greater Toledo Urban League Young Professionals, and serves as an Usher at Christ the King Church. He is a Class of 2006 graduate of the Leadership Toledo program.