Richard "Rick" Pfeiffer, Jr. (born April 12, 1944) is a Democratic politician and a former member 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 the se ...

. He served as the

city attorney A city attorney is a position in city and municipal government in the United States. The city attorney is the attorney representing the municipality. Unlike a district attorney or public defender, who usually handles criminal cases, a city at ...

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

from 2003 to 2017.

Life and career

Born in

Fort Jackson, South Carolina Fort Jackson is a United States Army installation, which TRADOC operates on for Basic Combat Training (BCT), and is located within the city of Columbia, South Carolina. This installation is named for Andrew Jackson, a United States Army gene ...

, Pfeiffer was raised in

. He is the son of Marie (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Stoll) and Richard Pfeiffer. An attorney, Pfeiffer initially won an open seat in the Senate in 1982, succeeding

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician, author, and television news host who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001 and as the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, Kasic ...

, who won election to the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

. In 1986, Pfeiffer was mentioned as a potential running mate to

Richard Celeste Richard Frank Celeste (born November 11, 1937) is an American former diplomat, university administrator and politician from Ohio. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 64th governor of Ohio from 1983 to 1991. Early life and career ...

. However, the spot ultimately went to Paul Leonard. Pfeiffer subsequently won reelection to the Senate, and again won reelection in 1990. Pfeiffer won election as judge of the Franklin County Environmental Court in 1992, and as a result, resigned from the Senate. He was succeeded by

Ben Espy Ben E. Espy is a Democratic politician who formerly served in the Ohio Senate. A member of Columbus City Council from 1982 to 1992, Espy went on to obtain an appointment to the Ohio Senate after Senator Richard Pfeiffer resigned in 1992. He ...

. He served on the bench until 2003, when he became Columbus city attorney.Richard Pfeiffer bio
accessed 9-30-2016 Pfeiffer was included as an attorney in the documentary

Flag Wars ''Flag Wars'' is a 2003 American documentary film about the conflict between two communities during the gentrification of a Columbus, Ohio neighborhood. Filmed in a cinéma vérité style, the film is an account of the tension between the two hist ...

'' which examined "the collision between African-American homeowners and gay, white interlopers", according to a report in the ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

''.'' In December 2016, Pfeiffer announced he would not seek re-election as Columbus city attorney after his term expiring on December 31, 2017. City Council president Zach Klein sought and won the office in the November 2017 general election.http://www.dispatch.com/news/20171107/klein-wins-columbus-city-attorney-kilgore-auditor

Personal life

Pfeiffer is married to Janet Preskenis; his children include journalist

Sacha Pfeiffer Sacha Pfeiffer (born September 7, 1971) is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and radio host. In November 2018, she joined NPR as an investigations correspondent. Pfeiffer is known for her work with the Spotlight team ru ...

, Sonya Pfeiffer, and Seth Pfeiffer.

References

Living people Democratic Party Ohio state senators Politicians from Columbus, Ohio 1944 births 20th-century American politicians People from Columbia, South Carolina {{Ohio-OHSenate-stub