David Lee Hobson (October 17, 1936 – October 6, 2024) was an American lawyer and politician of the Republican Party who served as a

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from the seventh congressional district of

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

from 1991 to 2009.

Early life and education

Hobson was born in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, and graduated from

Withrow High School Withrow High School (originally East Side High School) is a public high school located on the east side of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Cincinnati Public Schools. History The school opened in 1919 and was listed on the Nat ...

in 1954. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio Wesleyan University (abbrevriated OWU) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Ohio Valley, Centra ...

(

Delaware, Ohio Delaware is a city in Delaware County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located near the center of Ohio, about north of Columbus as part of the Columbus metropolitan area. The population was 41,302 at the 2020 census. Delaware ...

) in 1958 and a law degree from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

(

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

) in 1963. He served in the

Ohio Air National Guard The Ohio Air National Guard (OH ANG) is the aerial militia of the Ohio, State of Ohio, United States, United States of America. It is a reserve of the United States Air Force and along with the Ohio Army National Guard an element of the Ohio Na ...

from 1958 to 1963, and was inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame. Hobson served as an Ohio state senator from 1982 to 1990, serving as

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of 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 t ...

from 1988 to 1990 and as a majority whip. Hobson was responsible for Ohio's first

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law and grants for treatments for Alzheimer's disease.

Congress

In 1990, after

Mike DeWine Richard Michael DeWine ( ; born January 5, 1947) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 70th List of governors of Ohio, governor of Ohio since 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served a ...

left his seat in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

to become

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, Hobson was elected to replace him. It was the second time Hobson had succeeded DeWine; he had followed DeWine into the Ohio Senate. Hobson began serving in the House in 1991 (

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), and was reelected eight times without serious difficulty. Hobson was the assistant majority whip for the

110th Congress The 110th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, between January 3, 2007, and January 3, 2009, during the last two years of the Presidency of George W. Bush. It was composed of ...

. Hobson was a member of the

Republican Main Street Partnership The Republican Main Street Partnership is a nonprofit organization that was founded to raise funds to support politicians in the moderate wing of the Republican Party. As of 2024, the organization seems to be leaning away from its original cent ...

and was considered to be a moderate Republican. As a congressman, some of Hobson's primary concerns were improving health care, controlling government spending and balancing the budget, and strengthening national security. Hobson also believed that Congress needed to help stimulate the economies of former industrial towns which had seen factories leave. He sought to privatize military housing and fund military research at the

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene County, Ohio, Greene and Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patte ...

, which was in his district, and helped to establish the

Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Rittman, in Medina County, Ohio. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses , and as of 2024 had over 50,0 ...

and

Glenn Research Center NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field is a NASA center within the cities of Brook Park, Ohio, Brook Park and Cleveland between Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and the Rocky River Reservation of Cleveland Metroparks, with a s ...

. He also secured funding for a memorial at the

Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial () is a World War II cemetery and memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, that honors American troops who died in Europe during World War II. It is located on the site of the former temporary ...

for American soldiers killed in World War II. Hobson served in the House Committee on Appropriations, and became the top Republican on the Military Construction and Energy-Water subcommittees. He opposed several attempts by the administration of

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to fund a

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Controversies

In October 2006, the ''

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'' reported that Hobson led a delegation to

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

, France in August 2004 for the groundbreaking of an "interpretive center" at a cemetery for American soldiers killed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. During the seven-day trip, the delegation was feted with at least two private restaurant dinners, one given by

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational Aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and Arms industry, defense company. With 97,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $40 billion, it is one of the world's largest Arms industry ...

and another by the PMA Group, a leading lobbyist for defense companies. On a 2005 trip to visit nuclear fuel processing plants in France, Hobson and his delegation attended a dinner near

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, in southern France, hosted by Areva SA, the world's largest maker of

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a Nuclear fission, fission nuclear chain reaction. They are used for Nuclear power, commercial electricity, nuclear marine propulsion, marine propulsion, Weapons-grade plutonium, weapons ...

s. Because House rules prohibit members from accepting any gifts worth $50 or more, the article cited the opinions of “experts” on congressional ethics who speculated that the trip may have violated House rules and possibly federal law. However, no legal or ethics charges were brought forward and no impropriety was alleged by either legal or congressional ethics officials. On October 14, 2007, Hobson announced that he would retire at the end of his term in 2009.Jessica Wehrman
"Rep. Hobson to retire at end of current term"
''Dayton Daily News'', October 14, 2007 After leaving Congress, he became president of the lobbying firm Vorys Advisors LLC.

Committee assignments

* Appropriations Committee ** Subcommittee on Defense ** Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development (Ranking Member) ** Subcommittee on Military Construction (Chair)

Death

On October 6, 2024, Hobson died at

Miami Valley Hospital Premier Health Miami Valley Hospital is a large urban hospital in Dayton, Ohio. It is part of the Premier Health Partners network. The hospital has two additional locations: Miami Valley Hospital South in Centerville, Ohio, and Miami Valley H ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

, at the age of 87.

Footnotes

External links

U.S. Congressman Dave Hobson
U.S. House site
David Hobson's statements
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hobson, Dave 1936 births 2024 deaths 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American military personnel 21st-century Ohio politicians American United Methodists Members of Congress who became lobbyists Methodists from Ohio Ohio lawyers Ohio National Guard personnel Ohio State University Moritz College of Law alumni Ohio Wesleyan University alumni Politicians from Cincinnati Republican Party Ohio state senators Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Ohio General Assembly