Teresa Fedor
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Teresa Fedor (born May 2, 1956) is an American politician from
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 ...
. She was a 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 t ...
, representing the 11th district from 2019 until her resignation in 2022. A member of the
Ohio General Assembly The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate. Both houses of the General Assembly meet at the Ohio Statehouse in Colu ...
since 2001, Fedor previously represented the same seat in the Senate from 2003 to 2010, and was 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 ...
for five nonconsecutive terms, serving from 2001 to 2002, and again from 2011 to 2018. A
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...
, Fedor represented
Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...
and the surrounding areas.


Life and career

Fedor holds a bachelor of science degree in education from the
University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a Public university, public research university in Toledo, Ohio, United States. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, ...
. She served in the U.S. Air Force and Ohio Air National Guard for 6 and a half years. In 2000, Fedor ran against incumbent Jim Mettler for a seat in the Ohio House, and defeated the incumbent with 55.6% of the vote. She served in the House for a single term. Fedor was named Public Servant of the Year in 2002 by the
Ohio Environmental Council The Ohio Environmental Council is an environmental organization founded in 1969. Its work includes the environment, clean energy, and democracy. Environment OEC praised Columbus's Climate Action Plan. OEC jointly sought action against pollutio ...
. With incumbent Linda J. Furney unable to run again due to term limits, Fedor opted to run for 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 ...
in 2002 instead of seeking a second term in the House. Unopposed in the primary, she defeated Republican Phillip Barbosa with 72.3% of the vote. She served as assistant minority whip in the 125th General Assembly. Fedor won reelection in 2006 unopposed. For the 127th General Assembly, Fedor's fellow Senate Democrats chose her to serve as Minority Leader. However, in early 2008, Fedor was ousted in a political coup by Senator Ray Miller, who had organized a coalition to replace her with himself. As a result, Fedor served the remainder of her Senate career without a leadership position. She resigned on October 31, 2022 to focus on her race for the Ohio State Board of Education 2nd District.


Ohio House of Representatives, Second Tenure

In 2009, Fedor stated that she would be a candidate for 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 ...
in 2010, to replace the term limited Peter Ujvagi. However, Ujvagi resigned early after he was hired as Lucas County Administrator. The appointment of Ujvagi set up what many thought was going to be a legislative shuffle, where Fedor was appointed to Ujvagi's seat, and Representative
Edna Brown Edna Brown (April 7, 1940 – January 1, 2022) was an American politician, member of the Democratic Party and Minority Whip of the Ohio Senate, serving the 11th District from 2011 to 2018. She also served in the Ohio House of Representatives fr ...
then appointed to Fedor's Senate seat. However, this plan was foiled when Toledo City Councilman Joe McNamara opted also to be appointed to the Senate. As a result, Fedor kept her seat, Brown hers, and Joe Walter was appointed to a nine-month stint in Ujvagi's seat. Nonetheless, Fedor was elected to the House seat, winning 64.37% of the vote in 2010. She began her first term on January 3, 2011.


Ohio Senate, Second Tenure

In 2018, Fedor opted to again swap chambers and run for her old seat in the state Senate, to succeed
Edna Brown Edna Brown (April 7, 1940 – January 1, 2022) was an American politician, member of the Democratic Party and Minority Whip of the Ohio Senate, serving the 11th District from 2011 to 2018. She also served in the Ohio House of Representatives fr ...
who was term-limited. She again won the seat and was sworn into office on January 6, 2019. She resigned on October 31, 2022. Fedor is also a member of the
Ohio Attorney General The Ohio attorney general is the chief legal officer of the state of Ohio in the United States. The office is filled by general election, held every four years. The Ohio attorney general is Republican Dave Yost. History The office of the att ...
's Human Trafficking Commission.


Initiatives, policies and positions


Human trafficking

One of Fedor's landmark legislative victories relates to
human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...
. She has stated, "Traffickers have walked away from the halls of justice," and has vowed to help stop and continue to fight for those victimized as victims. She has received support from former Ohio Governors
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 ( ...
and
John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician and author who was the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001, and a Republican candidate for the pre ...
on stopping human trafficking, and has successfully passed one measure. Along with then
Ohio Attorney General The Ohio attorney general is the chief legal officer of the state of Ohio in the United States. The office is filled by general election, held every four years. The Ohio attorney general is Republican Dave Yost. History The office of the att ...
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 ...
, Fedor introduced the safe harbor bill, which would prevent a young person with being charged with
prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...
if they were victims of
human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...
. She has stated it is a critical portion of tackling the problem.


Education

Fedor has also voiced concerns over the elimination of some education measures that would eliminate all-day kindergarten requirements. While new legislation has come forth to give more communities education choices, Fedor has stated that she thinks districts were offered some choice with the waiver for all-day kindergarten that were provided in the past.


Economic issues

Fedor opposed initiatives to raise funds by selling rights to state lands, including
state parks State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...
to drill for
crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring u ...
and
natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
. "Our picture-perfect parks in Ohio may certainly … be turned into picture-perfect toxic wastelands,''she had stated. The General Assembly ultimately voted for allowing for oil exploration on state lands.


Abortion

On 25 March 2015, Fedor got so frustrated during a debate on abortion in the lower chamber of the state's legislature that she stood up and revealed that she had been raped and terminated the resulting pregnancy. "You don't respect my reason, my rape, my abortion, and I guarantee you there are other women who should stand up with me and be courageous enough to speak," she said. "What you're doing is so fundamentally inhuman, unconstitutional, and I've sat here too long." Fedor was raped many years ago, while she was in the military. The so-called
heartbeat bill A six-week abortion ban, also called a "fetal heartbeat bill" by proponents, is a law in the United States which makes abortion illegal as early as six weeks gestational age (two weeks after a woman's first missed period), which is when propon ...
that was being discussed in the Ohio legislature at the time would have doctors test for a heartbeat in the fetus, which could be as early as six weeks into the pregnancy. If one is detected, and the doctor proceeds with the abortion, they would face felony charges. If the bill becomes law, it would ban all abortions, except when the pregnancy endangered the mother's life or health, but including cases of rape and incest. The bill passed, 50 votes to 44.


References


External links


Teresa Fedor on the Ohio Ladies Gallery website

Representative Teresa Fedor
at Project Vote Smart *''Follow the Money'' – Teresa M Fedor
20062004
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fedor, Teresa 1956 births 21st-century American women politicians Living people Democratic Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Ohio General Assembly Military personnel from Ohio Democratic Party Ohio state senators Politicians from Toledo, Ohio University of Toledo alumni Women state legislators in Ohio