oh_gov_taft
SECRETARY OF STATE BOB TAFT
Age: 56 Born: January 8, 1942; Boston, Massachusetts Education: University of Cincinnati, J.D. (1976); Princeton University, M.A. (1967); Yale University, B.A. (1963) Military: U.S. State Dept./Vietnam (1967-69) Family: Married - Hope; One child Hometown: Hilliard, Ohio Religion: Protestant Career: Secretary of State (1991-present); Hamilton County Commissioner (1981-91); Ohio General Assembly (1977-81); Assistant Dir., Illinois Bureau of the Budget (1969-73); Peace Corps Volunteer (1963-65) |
• Born into a famous political family, Taft is the great-grandson of William Howard Taft, the 27th President of the U.S. and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. TaftÂ's father and grandfather were both U.S. Senators. If elected, Taft would be the first member of his famous family to serve as governor.
• A graduate of Yale University, Taft entered the Peace Corps and worked as a teacher in Tanzania for two years. Upon returning to the U.S., he went to Princeton University where he received an M.A. in government. After receiving his masters degree, Taft went to Vietnam, where he worked for the State Department from 1967-69 during the war.
• After his tour of duty in Vietnam, Taft worked in the budget office for the state of Illinois. Four years later he returned to school, and he graduated from the University of Cincinnati Law School in 1976.
• Taft first ran for public office in 1976, when he was elected to the Ohio General Assembly to represent Hamilton County. In 1980, he was elected Hamilton County Commisioner and served in that position for a decade. He ran on the ticket of former Gov. James Rhodes as the candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 1986, but they lost.
• In 1990, Taft considered running for the top office, but party insiders wanted to clear the way for George Voinoich, who went on to win two terms as governor. Taft ran instead for Secretary of State, and he narrowly beat Sherrod Brown (now a Member of Congress), with 53% of the vote. As the chief supervisor of elections, Taft developed a code of professional conduct for elections personnel and fought for and won reform of Ohio campaign finance laws. Taft has served as Secretary of State since 1991.