Jennette Bradley

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Bradley, second from left, with the winners of an oratorical contest and her successor as lieutenant governor, Bruce Johnson, on January 13, 2005.

Jennette B. Bradley of Columbus, Ohio, is an American politician of the Republican party was sworn in as Ohio State Treasurer on January 3, 2005.

Bradley earned a bachelor's degree from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. After working as an executive at a banking company, Bradley served as a member of the city council of Columbus, Ohio, for 11 years.

In 2002, Governor of Ohio Bob Taft ran for re-election but his lieutenant governor, Maureen O'Connor, ran for the Ohio Supreme Court. Taft replaced her with Bradley, a decision that sparked protests from his own party on the grounds Bradley was too liberal, having supported abortion and homosexual rights. The Taft-Bradley ticket easily defeated the Democratic challengers, Tim Hagan and Charleta Tavares and Bradley became Ohio's first African-American lieutenant governor and the first African-American woman to serve as Lt. Governor in the United States. (The 2002 election marked the first time that both candidates for lieutenant governor were black women.)

After taking office, Bradley was appointed by Taft to head the Ohio Department of Commerce, the Clean Ohio Council, and the Ohio Housing Finance Agency. In 2004, the governor also appointed Bradley to the "Jobs Cabinet." Following the resignation of Joseph T. Deters as state treasurer, Taft appointed Bradley to the post, effective January 2005. However, Bradley was defeated by a conservative challenger in the May 2006 Republican primary election.

Bradley's husband is Michael Taylor.