Buck Rinehart

Dana G. "Buck" Rinehart (born 1946) was the 50th mayor of Columbus, Ohio, from 1984-1992.

Having served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel, Rinehart attended The Ohio State University in Columbus, earning an B.A. in Political Science. He later attended Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University, graduating cum laude.

Rinehart began his career as treasurer of Franklin County, Ohio, from 1976-1984. As County Treasurer he posted a sign at the county building listing the names of real-estate tax scofflaws, the "Dirty Dozen"..

After mounting a failed 1982 campaign for governor, Rinehart ran for mayor in 1983, to replace outgoing Republican mayor, Tom Moody (1972–1984). Rinehart narrowly won the election to become the 50th mayor of Columbus. He won re-election in 1987.

In an April 2, 2013 article, the Columbus Dispatch described Rinehart's eight years as the city's mayor as "tumultuous." . "No idea was too big, no plan too outrageous for Rinehart," the Dispatch reported. "During his administration, the city built a $28 million Downtown safety building, the Franklin County Solid Waste Authority was established, I-670 from Downtown to Port Columbus was completed, City Center mall was planned and built (and is now a downtown park), redevelopment of the Short North and Brewery District got under way, the Martin Luther King Center was developed, and retail and residential growth began at Easton."

However, the Dispatch also said that Rinehart made "glaring mistakes." One example cited by the Dispatch was Rinehart taking "a wrecking ball to what was then the 120-year-old facade of the old Ohio Penitentiary on Spring Street, only to learn later that the city didn’t have permission for demolition.

Rinehart's political career ended in disgrace with his admission in 1990 of an affair with Brenda Dodrill, whom he had appointed as the city’s human-services director. As the Dispatch reported, "Revelation of the affair ended Rinehart’s political future. He finished his second term in 1991 and never ran for office again." Rinehart left his wife Carol in 1991 and married Dodrill.

After leaving office Rinehart returned to practicing law where his clients included powerful business interests. A July 4, 2011 Cleveland.com article reported that Rinehart lobbies for the Ohio Independent Automobile Dealers Association.

See also

v t e Mayors of Columbus, Ohio Jarvis W. Pike John Kerr Eli C. King John Laughrey William T. Martin James Robinson William Long Philo H. Olmsted John Brooks John Bailhache Warren Jenkins Philo H. Olmsted John G. Miller Thomas Wood Abram I. McDowell Smithson E. Wright Alexander Patton Augustus S. Decker Alexander Patton Lorenzo English Wray Thomas James G. Bull George W. Meeker James G. Bull John H. Heitmann Gilbert G. Collins George S. Peters Charles C. Walcutt Philip H. Bruck George J. Karb Cotton H. Allen Samuel L. Black Samuel J. Swartz John N. Hinkle Robert H. Jeffrey De Witt C. Badger Charles A. Bond George S. Marshall George J. Karb James J. Thomas Henry W. Worley Myron B. Gessaman Floyd F. Green Jim A. Rhodes Robert T. Oestreicher Jack Sensenbrenner W. Ralston Westlake Jack Sensenbrenner Tom Moody Dana G. Rinehart Gregory S. Lashutka Michael B. Coleman Category:Mayors of Columbus, Ohio