Betty Montgomery (born April 3, 1948) is an American politician from the state of

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, she formerly served as

Ohio State Auditor The Ohio State Auditor (formally known as the Auditor of State) is responsible for auditing all the public offices of the state of Ohio. The auditor is elected to a four-year term. The current Auditor is Keith Faber. References External lin ...

and is the first woman Ohio Attorney General.

Education

Montgomery earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the ...

and

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

from the University of Toledo College of Law.

Career

County Prosecutor

Montgomery was elected Wood County Prosecutor in 1980. In 1988, she was elected to the

Ohio Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the s ...

where she chaired the Criminal Justice Subcommittee and the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations ...

. Montgomery worked on passing Ohio's first living-will law.

Attorney General

In 1994 Montgomery was urged by Republican Party leaders to challenge Democrat

Lee Fisher Lee Irwin Fisher (born August 7, 1951) is an American attorney, politician, and academic. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 64th lieutenant governor of Ohio, with Governor Ted Strickland, from 2007 until 2011. He serves as the De ...

for the job of Ohio Attorney General. Montgomery was the first Republican attorney general in 24 years to hold the office. She faced an uphill battle against the very-popular Fisher. Montgomery campaigned on her record as a prosecutor. She narrowly defeated Fisher by a vote of 1,716,451 to 1,625,471. As Attorney General, Montgomery worked to increase funding for law enforcement and for more crime labs. She defeated Democrat

Richard Cordray Richard Adams Cordray (born May 3, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the COO of Federal Student Aid in the United States Department of Education. He served as the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFP ...

for re-election in 1998, earning more votes than any other Republican candidate.

Auditor

By the end of 2001, Montgomery was

term limited A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potent ...

from being re-elected Attorney General.

Ohio Republican Party The Ohio Republican Party is the Ohio affiliate of the Republican Party. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1854. History After the Civil War, Ohio politics was dominated by the Republican Party, and Ohio Republicans also played key roles in ...

Chairman Robert Bennett urged Montgomery to run for the job of state auditor. She swapped offices with then Auditor Jim Petro, who was elected as attorney general. Montgomery defeated Democrat Helen Knipe Smith and became State Auditor in 2003. Montgomery was the top vote-getter in the 1998 and 2002 state elections.Montgomery for auditor
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2006 election

In 2006, Montgomery opted to run for Ohio Governor. During her campaign for governor, Montgomery challenged

Ken Blackwell John Kenneth Blackwell (born February 28, 1948) is an American politician, author, and conservative activist who served as the mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio (1979–80), the Ohio State Treasurer (1994–99), and Ohio Secretary of State (1999–2007) ...

and Petro. After trailing both Blackwell and Petro in early polls, Montgomery dropped out of the governor's race to once again run for Attorney General. Her 2006 opponent in the general election was

State Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of ...

Marc Dann, who defeated Montgomery.

Later career

Montgomery runs a private law practice and a consulting company. She is the vice-chair of the Bowling Green State University Board of Trustees and serves on several boards and foundations. She is the chair of a leadership institute named after Ohio's first woman speaker of the house,

Jo Ann Davidson Jo Ann Davidson (born September 28, 1927) is an American politician of the Republican Party. A member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 1981 to 2000, she was Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives from 1995–2000. She is also t ...

, that helps develop young, female leaders.

Awards and recognition

Montgomery is recognized for her civic and political achievements and has received awards that include the Robert E. Hughes Memorial Award, the Black Swamp Humanitarian Award, the Ohio Hospice Senator of the Year and the Medical College of Ohio Distinguished Citizen Award.

External links

The Ohio Ladies Gallery: Auditor Betty Montgomery

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery, Betty 1948 births 21st-century American women American prosecutors Ohio Attorneys General Ohio lawyers Republican Party Ohio state senators State Auditors of Ohio Living people University of Toledo College of Law alumni Women state legislators in Ohio