State Representative Jamie Callender is currently serving his third term in the Ohio House of Representatives. He represents the 57th House District, which includes the majority of Lake County. Representative Callender has an extensive record of service to Lake County, volunteering with a variety of organizations and serving on several boards, including the Lake County Historical Society. He served as a trustee on the Mentor Public Library Board, where he worked to improve the library, making it more efficient and increasing circulation.
Callender previously served four two-year terms in the Ohio House of Representatives, earning accolades for his work ethic, his Republican leadership and his advocacy for Lake County. He received the NRA’s Defender of the 2nd Amendment Award for his efforts to protect our constitutional rights and was a two-time winner of the Watchdog of the Treasury Award. He was also widely regarded for his leadership for Ohio’s schools. His efforts included work to improve academic achievement and improve school accountability while lessoning the reliance on property taxes. He worked to increase parental involvement in the education of their children and worked to give low income families more options in the education of their children. Representative Callender has a long history of advocating for the legalization of cannabis going back to the 1980’s, including introducing a bill during the 122 nd General Assembly (1997-1998) to legalize adult use cannabis. Since his return to the Legislature, Representative Callender has introduced HB 498 in the 134 th General Assembly as well as HB 168 in the 135 th General Assembly to legalize adult use cannabis.
An early supporter of Issue 2, Representative Callender has fought to protect the rights Ohioan’s voted for in November 2023 and pushback on the notion that voters didn’t know what they voted for. After growing up in Concord Township and graduating from Mentor High School, Rep. Callender received his undergraduate degree from Cleveland State University and earned his law degree from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. Callender continues to practice law at a small law office in Lake County.
Rep. Callender resides in Concord with his family.
