| Teresa Fedor | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Ohio House of Representatives from the 47th district |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2011 |
|
| Preceded by | Joe Walter |
| In office January 3, 2001-December 31, 2002 |
|
| Preceded by | Jim Mettler |
| Succeeded by | Peter Ujvagi |
| Member of the Ohio Senate from the 11th district |
|
| In office January 6, 2003-December 31, 2010 |
|
| Preceded by | Linda J. Furney |
| Succeeded by | Edna Brown |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 26, 1956 Toledo, Ohio |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | Toledo, Ohio |
| Alma mater | University of Toledo |
| Profession | Educator |
| Religion | Christian |
Teresa Fedor is a Democratic member of the Ohio House of Representatives who has represented the 47th District since 2011. She represented the same district from 2001 to 2002, and was a member of the Ohio Senate from 2003 to 2010.
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Fedor holds a bachelor of science degree in education from the University of Toledo. She served in the U.S. Air Force and Ohio Air National Guard for 6 and a half years.
In 2000, Fedor ran against incumbent Jim Mettler for a seat in the Ohio House, and defeated the incumbent with 55.6% of the vote.[1] She served in the House for a single term. Fedor was named Public Servant of the Year in 2002 by the Ohio Environmental Council.
With incumbent Linda J. Furney unable to run again due to term limits, Fedor opted ran for the Ohio Senate in 2002 instead of seeking a second term in the House. Unopposed in the primary, she defeated Republican Phillip Barbosa with 72.3% of the vote.[2] She served as assistant minority whip in the 125th General Assembly. Fedor won reelection in 2006 unopposed.
For the 127th General Assembly, Senate colleagues chose Fedor to serve as minority leader.[3] However, in early 2008, Fedor was ousted in a political coup by Senator Ray Miller, who had organized a coalition to replace her with himself. As a result, Fedor served the remainder of her Senate career without a leadership position.[4]
In 2009, Fedor stated that she would be a candidate for the Ohio House of Representatives in 2010, to replace the term limited Peter Ujvagi. However, Ujvagi resigned early after he was hired as Lucas County Administrator.[5]
The appointment of Ujvagi set up what many thought was going to be a legislative shuffle, where Fedor was appointed to Ujvagi's seat, and Representative Edna Brown then appointed to Fedor's Senate seat.[6] However, this plan was foiled when Toledo City Councilman Joe McNamara opted also to be appointed to the Senate. As a result, Fedor kept her seat, Brown hers, and Joe Walter was appointed to a nine-month stint in Ujvagi's seat.
Nonetheless, Fedor was elected to the House seat, winning 64.37% of the vote in 2010. She began her first term on January 3, 2011.[7] Currently, she serves on the committees of Agriculture and Natural Resources (as ranking member); Education; State Government and Elections; and Veterans Affairs. She also serves as the policy chair for the Ohio Women's Democratic Caucus.[8]
Fedor is also a member of the Ohio Attorney General's Human Trafficking Commission.[9]
One of Fedor's landmark legislative victories relate to human trafficking. She has stated, "Traffickers have walked away from the halls of justice," and has vowed to help stop and continue to fight for those victimized as victims. She has received support form both former Governor Ted Strickland and current Ohio Governor John Kasich on stopping human trafficking,[10] and has successfully passed one measure. She plans on introducing more in the future.[11]
Along with Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, Fedor has also introduced the safe harbor bill, which would prevent a young person with being charged with prostitution if they were victims of human trafficking. She has stated it is a critical portion of tackling the problem.[12]
Fedor has also voiced concerns over the elimination of some education measures that would eliminate all-day kindergarten requirements. While new legislation has come forth to give more communities education choices, Fedor has stated that she thinks districts were offered some choice with the waiver for all-day kindergarten that were provided in the past.
While in the Senate, Fedor introduced legislation last session that would require boards of education to institute policies that address cyber-bullying, and plans of reintroducing a similar measure. "We have more instances where children are using electronic devices," she said. "It's part of their culture; it's a natural part of their growing up.... We need to be able to understand how it's being used or being misused." Fedor said cyber-bullying has a detrimental effect on students' academic performance and cases of suicide around the country have resulted from such harassment.
In regards to the initiative to privatize the Ohio Department Development, Fedor has stated that the proposed JobsOhio "is rife for another scandal that will make Coingate look like chump change."[13]
Fedor opposed initiatives to raise funds by selling rights to state lands, including state parks to drill for crude oil and natural gas. “Our picture-perfect parks in Ohio may certainly … be turned into picture-perfect toxic wastelands,’’she had stated.[14] The General Assembly ultimately voted for allowing for oil exploration on state lands.[15]