Harry Meshel (June 13, 1924 – September 4, 2017) was an American Democratic politician. He served as the president of the

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

and chairman of the

Ohio Democratic Party The Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Ohio. Former state representative Kathleen Clyde has been the party's chairwoman since June 2025. Statewide, the Democrats currently are viewed as th ...

. Meshel is noted for his legislative efforts on behalf of the disabled, economic development, and solid and

hazardous waste Hazardous waste is waste that must be handled properly to avoid damaging human health or the environment. Waste can be hazardous because it is Toxicity, toxic, Chemical reaction, reacts violently with other chemicals, or is Corrosion, corrosive, ...

disposal.

Early years

He was born in

Youngstown Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...

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 ...

on June 13, 1924, to

Greek-American Greek Americans ( ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. There is an estimate of 1.2 million Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. According to the US census, 264,066 people o ...

parents, Rubena (Markakis) and Angelo Michelakis, whose surname was

Americanized Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of the American culture and economy on other countries outside the United States, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, technology ...

to Meshel. Harry graduated from Youngstown's East High School in 1941.Cole, Ron
Governor names Harry Meshel to YSU Board of Trustees
''YSU News'', 31 May 2007. Meshel served in the

Naval Construction Battalion United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Forces (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Dependi ...

, or SeeBees, during the

Second World War 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 ...

from 1943 to 1946. He was awarded two Bronze Battle Stars for the battle of

Leyte Gulf Leyte Gulf, also known simply as the Leyte, is a gulf in the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. The bay is part of the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, and is bounded by two islands; Samar in the north and Leyte in the west. On the ...

in 1944. He earned a bachelor's degree in business from Youngstown College in 1949. As an undergraduate, he was Student Council president and vice president of the senior class. Meshel received a master's degree in urban land economics from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1950. That same year he became a limited instructor at Youngstown College, while also working in investment, real estate, and insurance.

Political career

In the 1960s, Meshel waged two unsuccessful campaigns for Mahoning County commissioner. He became an administrative assistant to Youngstown Mayor Anthony Flask in 1964, and served as

urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...

director in 1969. Meshel entered electoral politics in 1970, when he ran for a seat in the

. In 1971, he was elected to the 33rd District of the Ohio Senate, and he was re-elected five times. Meshel became the Senate's majority whip and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. In 1980, Meshel ran for a seat in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

but lost to Republican incumbent Lyle Williams. That same year, the Democrats lost the majority in the state Senate and Meshel replaced Oliver Ocasek, who had been president of the Ohio Senate, as the party's leader in the senate. Meshel served as minority leader from 1981 to 1982. During his five terms in the Ohio Senate, Meshel was credited with helping to secure almost $150 million in capital improvements for Youngstown State University. In addition, he secured more than $160 million in grants and loans from the Ohio Department of Development for economic development projects. Meshel also worked to create the Northeastern Universities College of Medicine, the College of Osteopathic Medicine at

Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...

, the

Wright State University Wright State University is a public research university in Fairborn, Ohio, United States. Originally opened in 1964 as a branch campus of Miami University and Ohio State University, it became an independent institution in 1967 and was named in ...

School of Professional psychology, and other programs.

Boxing

Meshel helped create the Ohio Boxing Commission, which eventually became th
Ohio Athletic Commission
Gulas, Greg
Harry Meshel is anxious to get WATTS Center up
''The Vindicator'', 24 March 2009. From 1994, Meshel was also a supervisor for the International Boxing Council.

Later years

In 1986, YSU named its new technology center Meshel Hall in his honor, as he helped secure funding for the project. In 1994, he received the YSU Distinguished Alumni Award. In 1993, Meshel resigned from the Ohio Senate to become chairman of the

, a position he held until 1995. In May 2007, Ohio Governor

Ted Strickland Theodore Strickland (born August 4, 1941) is an American politician who served as the 68th governor of Ohio from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, representing ( ...

named Meshel to a nine-year term as a trustee of Youngstown State University. He also worked as a lobbyist. He was honored for spearheading the creation of the

Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor The Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor, located in Youngstown, Ohio, preserves the history of the steel industry that dominated the Youngstown area's economic life for much of the 20th century. The museum is owned by the Ohio Hist ...

, which celebrated its 15th anniversary in September 2007. Meshel has a street, "Meshel Way" named after him in

Struthers, Ohio Struthers is a city in eastern Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, along the Mahoning River. The population was 10,063 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located directly southeast of Youngstown, Ohio, Youngstown, it is a suburb in ...

. Meshel also has a hall named after him at NEOMED. Meshel died on September 4, 2017.Longtime Valley politician Harry Meshel passes away
/ref>

Personal life

Harry married the former Judy Lazich on July 25, 1948. They had two children, Barry and Melanie. He was a member of the

Greek Orthodox Church Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Christianity in Greece, Greek Christianity, Antiochian Greek Christians, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christian ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meshel, Harry 1924 births 2017 deaths Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Youngstown State University alumni Youngstown State University faculty Military personnel from Ohio Presidents of the Ohio Senate Democratic Party Ohio state senators American people of Greek descent Melanie Meshel May Politicians from Youngstown, Ohio Businesspeople from Ohio 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century members of the Ohio General Assembly