Jo Ann Davidson (born September 28, 1927) is an American politician of the Republican Party. A member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 1981 to 2000, she was Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives from 1995–2000. She is also the national committeewoman for Republican Party for Ohio.

Davidson was appointed to the Ohio Casino Control Commission by Governor John R. Kasich on February 23, 2011. Her term of office ended on February 21, 2018.

Jo Ann Davidson

Davidson was first elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1981. Her legislative district consisted of a portion of Franklin County, Ohio. In 1995, she became the first woman elected as Speaker. She was succeeded by Larry L. Flowers in 2001 and became interim director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services that year.

Jo Ann Davidson

In 2016, the Capitol Theatre in the Vern Riffe State Office Tower in Columbus, Ohio was renamed in her honor.

Jo Ann Davidson

See also

List of female speakers of legislatures in the United States

References

External links

Ohiohistorycentral.org

"Kasich appoints members of Ohio Casino Control Commission, February 23, 2011

Profile on the Ohio Ladies Gallery website

1927 births

Members of American gaming commissions

Living people

Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives

Republican National Committee members

Speakers of the Ohio House of Representatives

Women state legislators in Ohio

20th-century American politicians

20th-century American women politicians

People from Findlay, Ohio

21st-century American women