Jennette Bradley

American politician (born 1952)

Jennette Bradley

62nd Lieutenant Governor of Ohio
In office
January 13, 2003 – January 5, 2005
Governor| Bob Taft
Preceded by| Maureen O'Connor
Succeeded by| Bruce E. Johnson
Treasurer of Ohio
In office
January 5, 2005 – January 8, 2007
Governor| Bob Taft
Preceded by| Joe Deters
Succeeded by| Richard Cordray
Columbus City Council
In office
1991–2002
Personal details
Born|  (1952-10-02) October 2, 1952 (age 72)
Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Political party| Republican
Spouse| Michael C. Taylor (m. 1990)
Alma mater| Wittenberg University
Profession| Politician

Jennette B. Bradley (born October 2, 1952) is an American politician of the Republican party and served as the 62nd lieutenant governor of Ohio from 2003 to 2005 and Ohio State Treasurer from 2005 to 2007. Bradley was the first African American woman elected to statewide office in Ohio.

## Early life and education

[edit]

Bradley was born in Columbus, Ohio. Her family settled in a neighborhood on Columbus' east side after her father retired from the United States Army. After graduating from East High School in 1970, Bradley attended Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio and earned a degree in psychology.[1]

## Early professional career

[edit]

Bradley took a job with the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority. She became the first black woman to serve as the executive director of the Authority when she was 28 years old.[1][2] She also worked on the Wittenberg Board of Trustees.[3] In 1986, Bradley moved to Washington, D.C. She returned to Columbus in 1989 and worked as a senior executive for Huntington National Bank.[1]

## Columbus City Council

[edit]

Bradley entered the 1991 Columbus City Council race as a Republican candidate. She was reelected in 1995 and 1999. During her tenure she was chair of City Council's Recreation and Parks and Public Utilities committees. She resigned from the council when she became Lieutenant Governor in 2003.[4]

## Lieutenant governor

[edit]

In 2002 Governor Bob Taft announced he had chosen Bradley to replace Maureen O'Connor as his running mate. Many conservatives did not support Bradley because she was pro-choice. Critics of the Taft-Bradley ticket were also concerned about her City Council vote to extend city workers' health care benefits to include domestic partners and same-sex couples.[4] Bradley was then criticized for having later voted against this legislation.

Taft and Bradley won the race with approximately 58% of the vote. Bradley became the third female lieutenant governor of Ohio and the first African-American woman elected to the office. She also became the first black female lieutenant governor of any U.S. state.[1]

After taking office, Bradley was appointed by Taft to head the Ohio Department of Commerce, the Clean Ohio Council, and the Ohio Housing Finance Agency.[4] In 2004, the governor also appointed Bradley to the "Jobs Cabinet." Following the resignation of Joseph T. Deters as state treasurer, Taft appointed Bradley to the post, effective January 2005. She resigned as lieutenant governor before taking her new post [5] However, Bradley was defeated by conservative Tea Party-backed Ashtabula County Auditor Sandra O'Brien in the May 2006 Republican primary election.[6] She returned to private life in 2007 and has occasionally consulted for the Columbus City Council. [3]

## Further career

[edit]

In 2016, Bradley was among the 9 people chosen from over 100 candidates to serve on a committee to review the charter of the Columbus City Council.[7]

## See also

[edit]

* List of female lieutenant governors in the United States
* List of minority governors and lieutenant governors in the United States

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d "Speaking of People". Ebony. 58 (6): 12. April 2003.
2. ^ "Jennette Bradley – Ohio Republican Women Strong". Retrieved June 20, 2019.
3. ^ a b Moore, Sade (September 28, 2020). "Jennette Bradley (1952- )". BlackPast.org. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
4. ^ a b c Bischoff, Laura A. (January 14, 2003). "Jennette Bradley Takes Oath And Place In History; She Is Nation's First Black Female Lieutenant Governor". Dayton Daily News - via NexisUni.
5. ^ "Smooth Transitions". State News (Council of State Governments). 48 (3): 34. March 2005.
6. ^ Provance, Jim (May 4, 2018). "Treasurer's race pits state lawmaker against former county auditor". Toledo Blade. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
7. ^ Foley, Mike (September 7, 2016). "Columbus Officials Name Members Of Charter Review Committee". www.wcbe.org. Retrieved June 20, 2019.

## External links

[edit]

* Appearances on C-SPAN

Party political offices

Preceded by

Maureen O'Connor

|  Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Ohio
2002  | Succeeded by

Tom Raga

Political offices
Preceded by

Maureen O'Connor

|  Lieutenant Governor of Ohio
2003–2005  | Succeeded by

Bruce E. Johnson

Preceded by

Joseph T. Deters

|  Ohio State Treasurer
2005–2007  | Succeeded by

Richard Cordray

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