Steve Stivers

Steve Stivers
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 15th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Mary Jo Kilroy
Member of the Ohio Senate from the 16th district
In office January 6, 2003-December 31, 2008
Preceded by	Priscilla D. Mead
Succeeded by	Jim Hughes
Personal details
Born	March 24, 1965 (1965-03-24) Ripley, Ohio
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Karen Stivers.
Residence	Upper Arlington, Ohio
Alma mater	Ohio State University (B.A./M.B.A.)
Religion	United Methodist
Military service
Service/branch	Ohio Army National Guard
Years of service	1985–present
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Commands	Former Battalion Commander
Awards	Bronze Star Meritorious Service Army Commendation Reserve Good Conduct National Defense Service Medal

Steve Stivers (born March 24, 1965) is the U.S. Representative for Ohio's 15th congressional district He is a member of the Republican Party. Stivers previously served in the Ohio Senate, representing the 16th district. He is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Ohio Army National Guard and served active duty in Iraq as Battalion Commander until December 2005.

Early life, education, and career

Steve grew up in the town of Ripley, Ohio. Steve is a recipient of the Eagle Scout Award.

Stivers attended the Ohio State University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and international relations in 1989 and an MBA in 1996. While attending Ohio State he joined the Delta Upsilon Fraternity.

Stivers spent seven years at Bank One, three years at the Ohio Company, two years as Finance Director for the Franklin County Republican Party and five years as a staff member in the Ohio Senate. Stivers has worked as a Series 7 licensed securities trader with the Ohio Company.

Military service

Stivers has served in the Ohio National Guard since 1985 and holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Logistics branch. Stivers was called to active duty while serving in the Ohio Senate in October 2004. It was then that Stivers served in Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, and Djibouti as Battalion Commander until December 2005. He was awarded a Bronze Star for his accomplishments as a battalion commander during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Ohio Senate

Elections

After redistricting, incumbent Republican Priscilla Mead decided to resign after only serving in the Ohio Senate for a year. Stivers was the "compromise candidate" after a Senate screening committee could not agree on him and fellow State Representative Jim Hughes, who were both running for the district. Stivers won a special election in January 2003 unopposed. He then won re-election in 2004 to a full senate term with 58% of the vote.

Tenure

Stivers served in the Ohio Senate from January 9, 2003 until December 2008.

Legislation

He sponsored 12 bills while in office which became law, 11 of which were bi-partisan. He was the lead sponsor of the following bills:
- A comprehensive tort reform bill which was enacted in 2004.
- Allowed members of the Armed Forces Reserves who are called to active duty to defer paying property taxes during the length of a deployment.
- Provided doctors limited civil protections if they choose to give free care to uninsured people, resulting in more than $1 million of free care in Franklin County alone.
- Worked to ensure those with disabilities in need of healthcare have the option to buy-in to Ohio’s Medicaid system.
- Worked to strengthen Ohio's sex offender laws.

He also passed a balanced, fiscally conservative state budget, provided the largest personal property tax cut in Ohio history, and froze tuition rates for Ohio’s college students.

Committee assignments

Senator Stivers sat on a variety of Ohio Senate committees. He was the Chairman of the Insurance, Commerce and Labor Committee, Vice-Chair of the Finance and Financial Institutions Committee, served on the Ways and Means Committee, the Judiciary Committee on Civil Justice, the Judiciary Committee for Criminal Justice, and also the Controlling Board.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2008

Steve Stivers shaking hands at the Grandview Memorial Day Weekend Parade.

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Ohio, 2008#District 15 and United States House of Representatives elections in Ohio, 2010#District 15*

In November 2007, Stivers announced he would run for election to Congress in Ohio's 15th District, a seat held by retiring Republican member Deborah Pryce. He won the Republican nomination and ran against Democratic nominee Mary Jo Kilroy, Libertarian Mark Noble and Independent Don Elijah Eckhart. Stivers lost by 2,311 votes, conceding on December 7, 2008 after a long vote recount.

2010

John Boehner, the then House Minority Leader, campaigning for fellow Ohio Congressman Steve Stivers (left) during the 2010 midterm elections

Stivers won the Republican primary with 82% of the vote. He again faced Democratic incumbent Mary Jo Kilroy along with Constitution Party nominee David Ryon and Libertarian nominee William J. Kammerer. November 2, 2010 Kilroy conceded to Stivers.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Financial Services
  • Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises
  • Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity

• Republican Study Committee
• Republican Main Street Partnership

Caucus Memberships

• Congressional Arts Caucus

Electoral history

Election Results 2004–2010

Year		Democrat	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct
Ohio Senate Election 2004		Katherine Thomsen	55,656	33.65%		Steve Stivers	95,251	57.58%		Don Eckhart	Non-Partisan	14,509	8.77%
U.S. House election, 2008		Mary Jo Kilroy	139,584	45.94%		Steve Stivers	137,272	45.18%		Mark M. Noble	Libertarian	14,061	4.63%		Don Eckhart	Non-Partisan	12,915	4.25%
U.S. House election, 2010		Mary Jo Kilroy	86,815	40.78%		Steve Stivers	116,290	54.62%		William Kammerer	Libertarian	5,831	2.74%		David Ryon	Constitution	3,728	1.75%

*Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2008, Travis Casper received 6 votes (<1%). In 2010, Bill Buckel (<1%) received 240 votes.

Personal life

Stivers is married to Karen Stivers and has a daughter, Sarah. They live in Columbus, Ohio with their dog.

External links

• Congressman Steve Stivers official U.S. House site
• Stivers for Congress official campaign site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Current Bills Sponsored at StateSurge.com
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Mary Jo Kilroy	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 15th congressional district January 3, 2011 – present	Succeeded by Incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by Steve Southerland R-Florida	United States Representatives by seniority 421st	Succeeded by Scott Tipton R-Colorado
Ohio Senate
Preceded by Priscilla Mead	Ohio State Senator, 16th District 2003 – 2009	Succeeded by Jim Hughes