Tom Sawyer (Ohio politician)

Thomas C. Sawyer
File:Thomas C. Sawyer.jpg
Member of the Ohio Senate from the 28th district
In office 2007 -
Preceded by	Kimberly Zurz
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 14th district
In office 1987–2003
Preceded by	John F. Seiberling
Succeeded by	Steve LaTourette
Personal details
Political party	Democratic
Profession	Educator

Thomas Charles Sawyer, usually known as Tom Sawyer, is a Democratic member of the Ohio Senate, representing the 28th District since his appointment in February 2007. He previously served as a U.S. representative from Ohio from 1987 to 2003.

Background

Sawyer was born in Akron, Ohio. Initially a student at the prestigious Western Reserve Academy, he was expelled for academic dishonesty in his senior year. After graduating from high school, Sawyer received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Akron in 1968, and was a member of the Alpha Phi Chapter of Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity. Later, Sawyer earned a master of arts degree from Akron in 1970.

Sawyer worked as an English teacher and then was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives, where he served from 1977 to 1983. In late 1983, he was elected Mayor of Akron.

In 1984, he bet mustaches with Akron-area Republican Tom Watkins on the outcome of the Mondale/Reagan presidential election; he has been clean-shaven ever since.

Congressional career

After only one term as mayor, he was elected to the House of Representatives from Ohio's 14th Congressional District, based in Akron, in 1986. He was reelected seven times, never facing serious opposition in the heavily Democratic district. However, he was severely criticized for his support of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Redistricting and defeat

The redistricting following the 2000 census eliminated Sawyer's district. Most of Akron was placed in the 13th District, represented by fellow Democrat Sherrod Brown. However, Sawyer's home was placed in the Youngstown-based 17th District. The district had been held by Democrat Jim Traficant until his expulsion from the House in 2002. Traficant tried to run for his old seat as an independent. Traficant's former protegé Tim Ryan also ran for the seat. The new 17th district was much more heavily pro-labor than Sawyer's old district and Sawyer was seen as being insufficiently pro-labor as a result of his support of free trade. In an upset, Sawyer lost the 2002 Democratic primary to Ryan, who went on to win the seat in the general election.

2006 primary defeat

Main article: Ohio 13th congressional district election, 2006

Sawyer ran in the 2006 primary for Ohio's 13th congressional district. He was the front-runner, and endorsed by the major papers, but lost to Betty Sutton in a six-way race. The Ohio AFL-CIO, pointing to Sawyer's stand on NAFTA, endorsed Sutton.

Post-Congressional career

Ohio State Board of Education

In 2006 Sawyer was elected to the Ohio State Board of Education, District #7. He received 54% of the vote to Republican incumbent Deborah Owens Fink's 29%, green Candidate David Kovacs's 12%, and John Jones's 5%. The race received attention due to Fink's promotion of intelligent design creationism in the classroom. Sawyer campaigned on his experience as an educator and a politician.

Ohio State Senate

In February 2007, Sawyer was elected by members of the Ohio Senate Democratic caucus to fill an Ohio State Senate seat vacated by Kimberly Zurz, who left to run the Ohio Department of Commerce. His appointed term will run through 2008.

In the November 2008 general election, Sawyer defeated Republican James Carr to retain his State Senate seat.

See also

• Election Results, U.S. Representative from Ohio, 14th District
• List of United States Representatives from Ohio

External links

• The Ohio Senate - Senator Tom Sawyer official OH Senate website
• Vote Tom Sawyer official campaign website
• Project Vote Smart - Senator Thomas C. 'Tom' Sawyer (OH) profile
• Follow the Money - Thomas C. Sawyer
  • 2006 campaign contributions