Jane Louise Campbell (born May 19, 1953) is an American politician who served as the 56th and first female mayor of
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
National Council of Churches
The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, usually identified as the National Council of Churches (NCC), is the largest ecumenical body in the United States. NCC is an ecumenical partnership of 38 Christian faith groups in the Un ...
American History
The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of Settlement of the Americas, the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Native American cultures in the United States, Numerous indigenous cultures formed ...
from the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
. She subsequently earned a Master's in Urban Studies at the
Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs
The Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs (Levin) is an accredited college of urban studies, public administration, urban planning, environmental studies, and nonprofit management at Cleveland State University located in Cleveland, Ohi ...
advocacy groups
Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the develop ...
. In 1975, she founded WomenSpace, a coalition of women's organizations that, in addition to promoting the creation of Ohio's first shelter for battered women, helped identify and promote women for community and government leadership.
Soon after in 1979, she worked as National Field Director for ERAmerica in Washington, D.C., coordinating national support for state coalitions supporting the Equal Rights Amendment. In the early 80s, as the executive director of the Friends of
Shaker Square
Shaker or Shakers may refer to:
Religious groups
* Shakers, a historically significant Christian sect
* Indian Shakers, a smaller Christian denomination
Objects and instruments
* Shaker (musical instrument), an indirect struck idiophone
* Cockt ...
, a neighborhood on Cleveland's east side, Campbell managed economic development, organized security patrols and expanded the historic district.
Politics
Campbell's political career began in 1984, when she was elected to the
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.
The House of Representatives first met in Ch ...
. She was reelected five times, and chosen by her colleagues as the majority whip and later the assistant minority leader. Legislative leaders across the country elected her to serve as president of the
National Conference of State Legislatures
The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), established in 1975, is a "nonpartisan public officials’ association composed of sitting state legislators" from the states, territories and commonwealths of the United States.
Background ...
in 1996. Campbell authored numerous laws that included tax incentives for economic development, financing for
Cleveland Browns Stadium
FirstEnergy Stadium is a stadium in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, primarily for American football. It is the home field of the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL), and serves as a venue for other events such as college and ...
Quicken Loans Arena
Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is a multi-purpose arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The building is the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL). It also serv ...
), authorizing prosecution of abuse and neglect of elderly and disabled people, creating a statewide review of child deaths, reforming juvenile justice, and establishing
child support
Child support (or child maintenance) is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child (or parent, caregiver, guardian) following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Child maintenance is paid d ...
guidelines and penalties.
Campbell was also appointed to work with the Clinton administration on a small intergovernmental group composed of governors, mayors, county officials, and state legislators to consult on the
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) is a United States federal law passed by the 104th United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. The bill implemented major changes to ...
.
In 1996 she was elected Cuyahoga County commissioner, a position to which she was reelected in 2000. As commissioner, she transformed the county welfare department into Cuyahoga Work and Training, the agency charged with implementing the federal welfare reform law. This reformed agency assisted over 20,000 families in moving from welfare to work between 1997 and 2001. Campbell also brokered a new public–private alliance for workforce training, and she developed training academies at
Cuyahoga Community College
Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) is a public community college in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Founded in 1963, it is the oldest and largest public community college within the state.
Tri-C schedules on the semester basis, and offers over 1,000 co ...
to provide job training to dislocated workers. She also led the drive to create Cuyahoga County's first
Brownfield
In urban planning, brownfield land is any previously developed land that is not currently in use. It may be potentially contaminated, but this is not required for the area to be considered brownfield. The term is also used to describe land prev ...
Loan Fund in conjunction with seven local banks to redevelop abandoned industrial and commercial sites. To date, this fund has generated over $50M in private investment.
While serving as commissioner, she continued her national involvement, presiding over both the Welfare Reform: Next Step Task Force for the
National Association of Counties
The National Association of Counties (NACo) is an organization that represents county governments in the United States.first female mayor.
In office, Campbell inherited a $60 million budget deficit and a city government in financial turmoil. In just one year, she stabilized the city's budget without a tax increase. However, some city services endured cutbacks, and the following year she had to lay off many city employees in order to maintain financial stability.
One of her political accomplishments was bringing the Lakefront Plan to the forefront of regional awareness, a plan that emphasized
Lake Erie
Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also h ...
as the region's most valuable asset and a vital element for revitalization in Downtown Cleveland.
Throughout her four years, Campbell worked with other levels of government and the private sector to initiate nearly $3 billion of investments for urban development and redevelopment projects. By 2005, several of these projects were underway, including Steelyard Commons (a Brownfield-turned-shopping center, opened Sept. 2007), Gordon Square Arts District, Battery Park (redeveloped Eveready Battery Plant),
The Avenue District
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...
corridor.
Also under her administration, Ohio's first state of the art Emergency Operations Center was built, and in 2004, Cleveland became the first city in the country to host the
International Children's Games
The International Children's Games (ICG) is an International Olympic Committee-sanctioned event held every year where children from cities around the world and between the ages of 12 and 15 participate in a variety of sports and cultural activitie ...
. However, Campbell was criticized over her indecision on efforts to build a new city convention center and for her support for the building of a Wal-Mart store at Steelyard Commons. Her relations with City Council President Frank G. Jackson were strained, and she even faced an attempted recall effort.
Ethics of the city government dominated the headlines for much of Campbell's term. During Campbell's mayoralty, a federal corruption investigation continued from the prior city administration, resulting in subsequent convictions of two of the former Mayor's confidantes.
In 2005,
Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
named Cleveland as one of the "World’s Digital Communities" in 2005, after Campbell set the stage for using technology as a platform for innovative economic development.
2005 mayoral election
On October 4, 2005, after serving one term as mayor, Campbell came in second to City Council President Frank Jackson, in a field of seven candidates in the non-partisan mayoral primary. Only 16% of Cleveland's population participated in the primary, the lowest voter turnout in the city's history. In the November 8, 2005, general election, Jackson defeated Campbell by 55% to 45%. At 11:25 pm (EST), she conceded to Jackson, who became the city's mayor on January 2, 2006.
Later career
After leaving office, Campbell accepted a short-term position at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
as part of a fellowship with the
Harvard Institute of Politics
The Institute of Politics (IOP) is an institute of Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University that was created to serve as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy, as well as to inspire Harvard undergraduates to consider careers in politi ...
. Her teaching covered issues in city governance and Ohio politics. She taught at the school during the spring of 2006.
From 2006 to 2009, she served as managing director of public-private partnerships for Colliers Ostendorf-Morris, in Cleveland's Colliers International office.
In January 2009, it was announced that Campbell would become chief of staff to Democratic Senator
Mary Landrieu
Mary Loretta Landrieu ( ; born November 23, 1955) is an American entrepreneur and politician who served as a United States senator from Louisiana from 1997 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, Landrieu served as the Louisiana State Treas ...
of
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
. She was previously the Director of the Washington Office of the National Development Council (NDC) and President of Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP).
In 2019, Campbell became the President and CEO of the United States Capitol Historical Society.
Personal life
Campbell was married to urban planner Hunter Morrison, the head of
Youngstown State University
Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio.
The university is composed of six undergraduate colleges a ...
Youngstown Vindicator
''The Vindicator'' is a daily newspaper serving Youngstown, Ohio, United States and the Mahoning County region as well as southern Trumbull County and northern Columbiana County. ''The Vindicator'' was established in 1869. As of September 1, 2 ...
, July 18, 2007. Retrieved December 31, 2007. Campbell and Morrison have two daughters, Jessica and Catherine Campbell-Morrison. The couple divorced in 2008.