50th Mayor of Columbus, Ohio. A graduate of The Ohio State University, earning both a BA in Political Science in 1970 and his law degree in 1973, he started his political career as Franklin County Treasurer, serving two terms from 1976 to 1984. He then succeeded Tom Moody as Mayor of Columbus in 1984, serving two terms until 1992. He was well known for his straight talk and actions that often were controversial. During his tenure, he successfully pushed for completion of I-670, the link from downtown to the airport, tried to entice the then St Louis Cardinals football team to come to Columbus, began redevelopment of the Brewery District and Short North, and enabled the City Center Mall (now a park) to open in Downtown. He also brought a number of events to Columbus, among them the "Son of Heaven" exhibition and the visit of a pair of pandas to the Columbus Zoo, through trade connections with China that he developed, as well as the 1992 AmeriFlora botanical exhibition and the Columbus 500 auto race. He also rented a wrecking ball to begin demolition of the old Ohio Penitentiary, but found out that the city did not own it. Still, he was eventually successful, as Nationwide Arena now sits on that site. Columbus flourished during this time both in economics and growth. He was quoted as saying "Nobody ever accused me of sitting around here being boring.” His political career was ended by an affair with the city's Human Services Director, whom he later married. After his second term as mayor, he returned to the private practice of law. In 1965, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel over the next 30 years, retiring from the reserves shortly before his death. He also ran unsuccessfully for both Ohio Governor and Ohio Treasurer before his election as mayor.
50th Mayor of Columbus, Ohio. A graduate of The Ohio State University, earning both a BA in Political Science in 1970 and his law degree in 1973, he started his political career as Franklin County Treasurer, serving two terms from 1976 to 1984. He then succeeded Tom Moody as Mayor of Columbus in 1984, serving two terms until 1992. He was well known for his straight talk and actions that often were controversial. During his tenure, he successfully pushed for completion of I-670, the link from downtown to the airport, tried to entice the then St Louis Cardinals football team to come to Columbus, began redevelopment of the Brewery District and Short North, and enabled the City Center Mall (now a park) to open in Downtown. He also brought a number of events to Columbus, among them the "Son of Heaven" exhibition and the visit of a pair of pandas to the Columbus Zoo, through trade connections with China that he developed, as well as the 1992 AmeriFlora botanical exhibition and the Columbus 500 auto race. He also rented a wrecking ball to begin demolition of the old Ohio Penitentiary, but found out that the city did not own it. Still, he was eventually successful, as Nationwide Arena now sits on that site. Columbus flourished during this time both in economics and growth. He was quoted as saying "Nobody ever accused me of sitting around here being boring.” His political career was ended by an affair with the city's Human Services Director, whom he later married. After his second term as mayor, he returned to the private practice of law. In 1965, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel over the next 30 years, retiring from the reserves shortly before his death. He also ran unsuccessfully for both Ohio Governor and Ohio Treasurer before his election as mayor.
Bio by: Kenneth Gilbert
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