Born Joseph Finley August 17th 1949, Joe was raised in Akron, growing up in the Hillwood Housing Project in South Akron. He moved to Wilson Street off Johnston Street when he was five. Joe was the fourth child of Robert and Mary. Robert and Mary Finley, both United States postal workers showed Joe the value of hard work. After graduating from Central-Hower High School, Joe served in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.Vietnam After he returned to Akron in 1971, Joe attended the University of Akron. He received his Bachelors of the Arts in Education in 1975. While a student at the university, Joe met Alexis Angeloff. Joe and Alexis have been married for 36 years and have nine children.WeddingA lifelong member of the Democratic Party, he has since gone on to serve as a member of the Akron City Council and Ohio Democratic Party's State Central Committee.During his tenure as Councilman of Ward 2, he was known for his honesty and independence from the city administration. Joe fought to keep big money interests from influencing elections, and in 1998 championed the Clean Money Campaign, the first successful citizen initiative in the history of Akron. He was the only member of council to call for the resignation of a service director that used his position for self gain. Joe was extremely popular during his two terms, winning over 80% of the electorate in the 2003 Primary.Teaching For the past 31 years Joe taught Social Studies at the Akron Public Schools. He has been at Goodyear Middle School for the past twenty years. During that time he fought for fair wages as union representative for the Akron Education Association.
