| Bill Seitz | |
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| Member of the Ohio Senate from the 8th district |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office October 10, 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Patricia Clancy |
| Member of the Ohio House of Representatives from the 30th district |
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| In office January 3, 2001-October 9, 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Cheryl Winkler |
| Succeeded by | Robert Mecklenborg |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 29, 1954 Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Diane Seitz |
| Residence | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Alma mater | University of Cincinnati |
| Profession | Attorney |
| Religion | Presbyterian |
Bill Seitz is a Republican member of the Ohio Senate, who has represented the 8th District since his appointment in October 2007. He was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 2001 until 2007.
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After graduating from the University of Cincinnati, Seitz worked as a member of the Cincinnati Board of Education, and as a Green Township Trustee. Since 1978, Seitz has been a partner a partner in the Taft, Stettinius and Hollister law firm.
With incumbent Representative Cheryl Winkler unable to run again due to term limits, Seitz was nominated to succeed her in 2000. He handily won election in 2000, and was reelected in 2002, 2004 and 2006.
In 2004, Seitz was mentioned as a potential successor to Lou Blessing in the Ohio Senate. However, he chose to remain in the House, and the Senate seat was won by Patty Clancy. When Merle Kearns resigned midway through 2005 to take a place in the cabinet of Governor Bob Taft her assistant majority whip position became open, and colleagues appointed Seitz to take her place.[1] Seitz served as majority whip in the 127th General Assembly.
When Senator Patty Clancy announced that she would resign her seat midway through 2007, Seitz was mentioned as the frontrunner for the appointment to replace her. In October 2007, Senate Republicans appointed Seitz to finish the remainder of Clancy's term.[2] Seitz easily won election to the seat in 2008.
For the 129th General Assembly, Seitz ran for a leadership position, but lost President Pro Tempore to Keith Faber and Majority Leader to Jimmy Stewart. He is a non-voting member of the Hamilton County Transportation Improvement District. He sits on the committees of Energy and Public Utilities; and Judiciary. He also serves on the Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission, and the RECLAIM Advisory Committee.
After Seitz voted against the controversial legislation that would greatly hamper collective bargaining for public employees, Senate President Tom Niehaus stripped him of his chairmanship of the Senate Government Oversight Committee. While Niehaus stated that it was due to him failing to keep another member informed about changes to a bill, many have speculated it was a political repercussion for voting against the measure.[3] Seitz has called the move unacceptable and disagrees with the decision.[4] Seitz later struck back with a memo stating that Faber had falsely accused him of doing so, stating that both Niehaus and Faber had acted disingenuously.[5]
A former roommate with Niehaus, Seitz moved out following his removal as chairman, saying, "I don't have the money for those high-priced digs since I lost my chairmanship."[6]
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