Senate President Bill Harris Endorses Gillmor for State Senate

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COLUMBUS – Senate President Bill Harris (R-Ashland) today pledged full support of the Senate Republican Campaign Committee to elect Karen Gillmor as the next state Senator from the 26th Senate District, which includes all of Crawford, Logan, Marion, Sandusky, Union, Wyandot counties and portions of Ottawa and Seneca counties.

Harris noted that Gillmor, who previously served in the Ohio Senate from 1993 through 1997, has demonstrated not only that she can win an election, but that she will be an effective voice for her region as the Senate works to make Ohio an even better place to live, learn and work.

“Now, more than ever, we need experienced leadership on creating jobs, revitalizing our state economy and ensuring our families are safe, healthy, and getting the best education to prepare them for the future,” President Harris said. “Karen Gillmor is the ideal leader to represent the 26th Senate District during this time of great challenges and even greater opportunity.”

Karen Gillmor has worked in the fields of education, health care and finance in both the public and private sectors in Ohio for more than two decades. In 1992, Gillmor was elected to the State Senate, where she quickly rose through the ranks, serving as chair of the influential Insurance, Commerce & Labor Committee and the State & Local Government & Veterans’ Affairs Committee. There, she worked diligently to encourage business development and the creation of new jobs. Gillmor sponsored legislation to create a tax credit to encourage manufacturers to invest in new equipment, encouraging increased productivity and leading to more than $2 billion in new investments by 400 Ohio companies over a period of two years. As vice chair of the Senate Health Committee, Gillmor also worked to advance women’s health care in Ohio and to both expand access to and improve the quality of daycare for children.

Gillmor was re-elected to a second term in 1996. Late in 1997, then-Governor George Voinovich tapped Gillmor to serve as vice chairman of the State Employment Relations Board (SERB), where she has served for the last decade, working to adjudicate labor disputes between public employers and employees. Throughout her service, Gillmor has remained active in the region as a trustee of Heidelberg College (Tiffin), the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center (Fremont) as well as the National First Ladies Library (Canton).

Gillmor was married to the late Congressman Paul E. Gillmor, a former president of the Ohio Senate, with whom she has three sons, Paul Michael, Connor and Adam.