Tom Patton
Encyclopedia
Tom Patton is a member and current majority leader of the Ohio Senate
Ohio Senate
The Ohio State Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly, the legislative body for the U.S. state of Ohio. There are 33 State Senators. The state legislature meets in the state capital, Columbus. The President of the Senate presides over the body when in session, and is currently Tom...

, representing the Twenty Fourth District since 2008. He formerly served in the Ohio House of Representatives
Ohio House of Representatives
The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate....

 from 2003 to 2008. He serves as the Chairman of the Senate Highways and Transportation Committee.

Career

Patton is a member the Knights of Columbus, the Cleveland Police Historical Society, the AFL-CIO and serves as president of the Treasurers and Ticket Sellers Local 756.

With newly drawn district lines following redistricting in 2002, Patton was one of five Republicans who sought to succeed incumbent Erin Sullivan
Erin Sullivan
Erin Sullivan was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, serving from 1998-2002. Her district consisted of much of lower Cuyahoga County, Ohio. She was preceded by Tom Patton.-External links:*...

. To take the nomination, Patton received 42.33% of the vote. He went on to defeat Democrat Susan Adams in the general election with 52.4% of the vote. In his first term, Speaker of the House Larry Householder
Larry Householder
Larry Householder of Glenford, Ohio, is an American politician of the Republican party who served as speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives from 2001 to 2005....

 appointed Patton as Chairman of the Transportation and Justice Subcommittee of the House Finance and Appropriations Committee, as well as a member of the Banking, Pensions and Securities Committee, the Insurance Committee, the Public Utilities Committee, and the Rules and Reference Committee.

In his first reelection bid, Patton defeated Democrat Bobby Bland with 66.59% of the vote to take a second term. In the 126th General Assembly, Patton served again as Chairman of the Transportation and Justice Subcommittee of the House Finance and Appropriations Committee, as well as the Financial Institutions, Real Estate, and Securities Committee, the Insurance Committee, and the State Government Committee.

For his third term in House, Patton faced John Celebrezze in 2006, however easily defeated his opposition with 58.53% of the electorate. Again he served as Chairman of the Transportation and Justice Subcommittee of the House Finance and Appropriations Committee, and also on the Education Committee, the Financial Institutions, Real Estate, and Securities Committee, and the Ways and Means Committee.

Ohio Senate

When incumbent Bob Spada was unable to run for another term in the Ohio Senate
Ohio Senate
The Ohio State Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly, the legislative body for the U.S. state of Ohio. There are 33 State Senators. The state legislature meets in the state capital, Columbus. The President of the Senate presides over the body when in session, and is currently Tom...

 in 2008, Patton decided to give up a fourth term in the House to run for the seat. Unopposed in the primary, Patton went on to defeat Democrat Gary Kucinich, brother of Dennis Kucinich
Dennis Kucinich
Dennis John Kucinich is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He was furthermore a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections....

, in the general election with 68.39% of the vote. However, in a unusual turn of events, Spada resigned his seat two months prior to the end of his term in order to take an appointment from Governor Ted Strickland
Ted Strickland
Theodore "Ted" Strickland was the 68th Governor of Ohio, serving from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, representing ....

. Subsequently, Senate Republicans decided to seat Patton early, in order for the Senate to have adequate representation throughout the important lame duck session. He was seated in the Senate on November 18, 2008.

For the 128th General Assembly, Senate President Bill Harris
Bill Harris
- Sports :*Bill Harris , American MLB pitcher*Bill Harris , Canadian MLB pitcher*Bill Harris American basketball coach, head coach India national basketball team...

 appointed Patton as Chairman of Senate Transportation Committee, as well as a member of the Finance and Financial Institutions Committee, the Energy and Public Utilities Committee and the Ways and Means and Economic Development Committee. In the 129th General Assembly, Patton is serving as a member of the committees on Energy and Public Utilities; Finance; Highways and Transportation (as Chairman); and Ways and Means and Economic Development. He is also serving on the Ohio Rail Development Commission; the Ohio Turnpike Commission; the Midwest Interstate
Passenger Rail Compact; and the Ohio Athletic Commission.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK