State Representative Dan Stewart (D-Columbus) of the 25th District is proud to serve his hometown of Columbus in the Ohio House. Stewart represents the area including central, west and south Columbus, in addition to Franklin, Hamilton and Jackson Townships.
Rep. Stewart grew up in the Hilltop area of Columbus’ west side. The third-generation West Sider played little league football for the Georgian Heights Packers (his elementary school), right across the street from his current home in Westgate Park. He graduated from West High School as Vice President of his senior class. He then earned a political science degree from The Ohio State University. He balanced his classwork with working two jobs (including at the Sears distribution center warehouse) to put himself through college, but he always found time to work on local political and issue campaigns.
Rep Stewart’s 30 years of experience in community service began with volunteer work on legislative campaigns during college. He then worked as a consumer investigator and federal liaison officer at the Ohio Consumers Counsel. While there, Rep. Stewart helped pass a bill in the U.S. Congress to require more energy-efficient home appliances. For several years, Rep. Stewart was director of Volunteers in Service to America for the Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Ohio (now NAMI-Ohio), a nationally recognized program that was the first in the country to utilize people with severe mental illnesses as VISTA volunteers.
He also worked for the Service Employees International Union, advocating for health care workers. He fought for better working conditions and patient care and helped pass "safe needle" legislation in the Ohio General Assembly to protect front-line health care workers and nurses from needle stick injuries that could lead to HIV, hepatitis and other infections.
Voters first elected Rep. Stewart to the Ohio House in 2002. He was re-elected in 2004, 2006 and 2008.
Rep. Stewart is Chairman of the Ohio House Elections and Ethics Committee. He is also a member of the Commerce and Law Committee, the Consumer and Economic Protection Committee, the State Government Committee and the Housing Urban Revitalization Committee.
In the 126th General Assembly, Rep. Stewart co-sponsored and helped craft anti-predatory lending legislation that became law in 2006. He has worked to stop the outsourcing of Ohio jobs, and he has introduced legislation to tighten oversight and reduce wasteful state contracting. Rep. Stewart has also sponsored bills allowing victims of rape to know all of the options available to them concerning emergency contraceptives, and to make insurance companies cover prescription family planning.
Rep. Stewart has earned several accolades, including the 2004 "Ohio Firefighters’ Legislator of the Year," and the 2005 "Backbone Award" for his work to fight voter suppression efforts. The Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers recognized Rep. Stewart this year for his work on passing anti-predatory lending legislation. Most recently, he was acknowledged by the National Association of Social Workers as the 2007 "Public Official of the Year."
Since taking office, Dan has held dozens of town hall meetings. He often brings other elected officials to help answer questions on local matters in his ongoing mission to represent his district to the best of his ability.
