Jo Ann Davidson (September 28, 1927 – October 25, 2024) was an American politician of the Republican Party. A member of 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 ...

from 1981 to 2000, she was

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

of the

from 1995–2000. She also served as the national committeewoman for Republican Party for Ohio. Davidson was appointed to the Ohio Casino Control Commission by Governor John R. Kasich on February 23, 2011. Her term of office ended on February 21, 2018. Davidson was first elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1981. Her legislative district consisted of a portion of

Franklin County, Ohio Franklin County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1,323,807, making it the List of counties in Ohio, most populous county in Ohio. Most of its la ...

. In 1995, she became the first woman elected as Speaker. She was succeeded by Larry L. Flowers in 2001 and became interim director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services that year. In 2016, the Capitol Theatre in the

Vern Riffe State Office Tower The Vern Riffe State Office Tower is a skyscraper on Capitol Square in downtown Columbus, Ohio. It was completed in 1988 and has 32 floors. NBBJ designed the building, which is the fifth-tallest in Columbus, and has 102,192 m2 of floor area. An ...

in Columbus, Ohio was renamed in her honor. Davidson died on October 25, 2024, at the age of 97.

References

External links

Ohiohistorycentral.org
'dead link''
"Kasich appoints members of Ohio Casino Control Commission
February 23, 2011
Profile on the Ohio Ladies Gallery website
'dead link'' 1927 births 2024 deaths Members of American gaming commissions Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Ohio General Assembly Republican National Committee members Speakers of the Ohio House of Representatives Women state legislators in Ohio 20th-century American women politicians People from Findlay, Ohio 21st-century American women politicians {{Women's-History-stub

See also

References

External links