De’Andre Barnes, a native of Portsmouth, attended Portsmouth Public Schools and currently has three children who attend Portsmouth Public Schools.
After graduating from Virginia State University, De’Andre devoted himself to the Portsmouth community, especially those in low-income neighborhoods. De’Andre worked countless hours with students, parents, community leaders, and more to ensure his kids had the necessary resources to succeed. Through his accomplishments in the community, De’Andre learned what it would take to turn around Portsmouth’s schools and give kids a truly high-quality education.
Today, De’Andre runs a successful nonprofit organization, the Portsmouth City Sports Club, Incorporated. The nonprofit has been running for nearly seven years now. The Portsmouth City Sports Club has served over 4,000 children through various programs. The club also has very strong links to its local community. This coupled with De’Andre’s service on many boards of Portsmouth, Virginia shows his belief in bringing communities together to resolve conflicts and make progress. De’Andre was elected on November 6th, 2018 as the youngest ever to the Portsmouth School Board. On November 3rd, 2020, he was elected as the youngest ever to the Portsmouth City Council where he received more votes than any other council candidate in the race. On January 4th, 2021, De’Andre was voted in as the youngest-ever Vice Mayor for the city of Portsmouth, by his peers.
De’Andre was raised in Portsmouth, Virginia by his grandmother, Florence Artis, and parents, Janice Barnes and Benny Harvie an Army veteran. At an early age, his parents instilled in him the importance of public service and a good education. Those values are the foundation upon which De’Andre serves today. De’Andre grew up in Dale Homes. He graduated from the Historic I.C. Norcom High School. He graduated from Virginia State University with a Bachelor’s in Political Science and a Master’s in Urban Affairs from Norfolk State University.
While attending Norfolk State, De’Andre started as an intern for Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, the only the 2nd African American Congressman to be elected to Congress from Virginia. After a year with Congressman Scott, De’Andre became a Legislative Assistant, working under that title for almost six years. He left Congressman Scott's office in 2015 to return to Portsmouth to serve as a Youth Service Coordinator with Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority.