Joseph P. Sulzer is an American Democratic politician, and was

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Chillicothe, Ohio Chillicothe ( ) is a city in Ross County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 22,059 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Scioto River 45 miles (72 km) south of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, ...

. Sulzer served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. He earned a bachelor's degree from

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 ...

and was awarded a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree by

Capital University Law School Capital University Law School is an ABA-accredited private law school located in downtown Columbus, Ohio, United States. The law school is affiliated with Capital University, the oldest university in Central Ohio and one of the oldest and larg ...

. Returning to Chillicothe, Sulzer was elected to the city council, where he served for six years. In 1987, Sulzer became mayor of Chillicothe. In 1992, Sulzer entered the Democratic primary contest for 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 ...

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 ...

's sixth congressional district. He lost that primary race to

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 ( ...

. Sulzer served as Chillicothe mayor until 1996. In 1997, Sulzer was appointed to fill out the term of a seat in 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 ...

that had become vacant. While serving in the legislature, Chillicothe city council member Margaret Planton was appointed his successor as mayor. Sulzer won re-election to his Ohio House of Representatives seat in 1998 and 2000. However, in 2002, Sulzer was unseated by Republican John M. Schlichter. In 2003, Sulzer again ran for the office of Chillicothe mayor. He won the Democratic primary. In the general election, he defeated city council member Diane Carnes, getting 55 percent of the vote. In August 2005, Sulzer announced that he would run for the US House seat ( OH-18) held by Republican

Bob Ney Robert William Ney (born July 5, 1954) is an American former politician who represented Ohio's 18th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 until his resignation on November 3, 2006, after he pleaded guilty to charges ...

. In March 2006, Sulzer called for Ney to step down if explicitly named by

Jack Abramoff Jack Allan Abramoff (; born February 28, 1959) is an American lobbyist, businessman, film producer, writer, and convicted criminal. He was at the center of an extensive federal corruption investigation, which resulted in his conviction and 21 ...

as someone guilty of corruption. On May 2, 2006, Sulzer lost the primary election for the Democratic nomination in the Ohio 18th to attorney

Zack Space Zachary Thompson Space (born January 27, 1961) is an American lawyer and politician and the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2007 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. After serving in Congress, Space became a lobbyis ...

. Space got 39% of the vote, Jennifer Stewart 25%, and Sulzer 24%. In November 2007 Sulzer was re-elected to the office of Mayor in Chillicothe. He defeated former City Council-At-Large Diane Carnes in a crushing victory that helped win the local Democratic Party majority control of City Council with the election of new Council members. In 2008, Sulzer controversially backed a measure that would install red-light cameras at several intersections in the city and the idea won passage in City Council. They were installed in October 2008, but city residents had them taken down after voting in a favor of a no-red light camera referendum in November 2009. In 2010, Sulzer unsuccessfully campaigned for Judge of the Ross County Court of Common Pleas, losing to Mike Ater in a three-way race that also included Mark Preston. Sulzer finished third in the race with just 18 percent of the vote. In 2011, he announced that he would retire from public service at the end of the year and his term as mayor. He is now a private practice attorney.

References

External links

*
Chillcothe Gazette - search results - Joe Sulzer
*
Biography, from the Cityof Chillicothe Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sulzer, Joe Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Politicians from Chillicothe, Ohio United States Army soldiers Ohio University alumni Capital University Law School alumni Mayors of places in Ohio Democratic Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Ohio General Assembly