| Nancy Hollister | |
|---|---|
| Portrait as Lt. Governor | |
| 66th Governor of Ohio | |
| In office December 31, 1998 – January 11, 1999 |
|
| Lieutenant | none |
| Preceded by | George Voinovich |
| Succeeded by | Bob Taft |
| 60th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio | |
| In office 1995–1998 |
|
| Governor | George Voinovich |
| Preceded by | Mike DeWine |
| Succeeded by | Maureen O'Connor |
| Member of the Ohio House of Representatives from the 96th district |
|
| In office January 5, 1999-December 31, 2004 |
|
| Preceded by | Tom Johnson |
| Succeeded by | Charlie Wilson |
| Mayor of Marietta, Ohio | |
| In office 1984–1991 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 22, 1949 Marietta, Ohio |
| Political party | Republican |
| Profession | Politician |
Nancy Putnam Hollister (born May 22, 1949) is a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Ohio. Hollister was the first, and to this date only, female Governor of Ohio. She attended Kent State University, and upon leaving college she became a housewife. She began her political career in the 1980s.
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Nancy Hollister first entered public office when she was elected to the Marietta City Council in 1980.[1] Hollister would serve on city council until being elected Mayor of Marietta in 1984. As Mayor, Hollister worked to attract new businesses to the area, promote tourism, and secured funding for a new bridge across the Ohio River.[2]
Since Hollister was a mayor in Southeastern Ohio, Governor Voinovich appointed Nancy Hollister as director of the Governor's Office of Appalachia. In this position, Hollister would advise the Governor on how to improve the economy, and life, for twenty-nine counties.
Hollister was elected Ohio's 60th Lieutenant Governor in 1994 to replace incumbent lieutenant governor Mike DeWine, who was elected to the U.S. Senate. Hollister would oversee several State and Local Government Commissions. These included the Governor's Office of Appalachia, the Governor's Workforce Development Board,the Ohio Department of Agriculture, the Ohio Bureau of Employment Services, the Ohio School-to-Work Initiative, the Office of Housing and Community Partnership, the Ohio Coal Development Office, and the Ohio Farmland Preservation Task Force.[2]
In November 1998 as part of the that year's midterms, Governor George Voinovich was elected to the United States Senate. Voinovich resigned as Governor on December 31, 1998, and with that, Hollister became Governor. Hollister became Ohio's first and to date only woman to serve as Governor. She only served 11 days in office, making her Ohio's shortest-serving Governor (as she was merely finishing out the last few days of Voinovich's term). She was succeeded by Bob Taft, who was elected Governor during the same election cycle and was waiting to be sworn in on January 11, 1999.
Hollister later ran for a seat in the United States House of Representatives, defeating former Rep. Frank Cremeans for the Republican nomination, but she lost to Democrat (and, coincidentally, future Governor) Ted Strickland.
Upon leaving the Governor's office, Hollister was appointed to the Ohio House of Representatives, representing the 93rd district, in 1999. She ran for and was elected to the seat in 2000 and 2002. In her final run for office to date, Hollister was defeated by Jennifer Garrison in 2004.
A key issue in the campaign was Hollister's opposition to a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. Ironically, Garrison - the Democrat - ran to the ideological right of Hollister on the same-sex marriage ban which passed during the same 2004 election 61.71% to 38.29%.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mike DeWine |
Lieutenant Governor of Ohio 1995–1998 |
Succeeded by Maureen O'Connor |
| Preceded by George Voinovich |
Governor of Ohio 1998–1999 |
Succeeded by Bob Taft |