State Representative Stephen Dyer (D-43rd District) is a journalist by trade, but a public servant by passion. The former award-winning reporter is proud to serve his second term on behalf of his constituents in parts of Portage and Summit Counties.
He has the honor of serving as the Finance and Appropriations subcommittee chairman who will be examining the state’s school finance reform plan. He has spent much of the last two years developing his own school funding reform plan, and many of the ideas he developed have ended up in Governor Strickland’s reform plan. In addition, he serves on the Insurance, Financial Institutions, Real Estate and Securities as well as the Consumer Affairs committees.
Rep. Dyer believes a quality education can help develop Ohio’s youth as the future drivers of our society. His own education is extremely well-rounded. The Green resident graduated from Tufts University in Massachusetts with a bachelor’s degree in English. He then returned to his roots in Ohio, earning a master’s degree in journalism from Kent State University, then a law degree from the University of Akron.
Before he pursued his law degree with aspirations of making laws, Rep. Dyer was a tough reporter for the Akron Beacon Journal. His nine years in that newsroom exposed him to some of the most pressing issues of our time: government corruption, the fight against terrorism, the denial of legal rights, and crime against children. Dyer won awards and recognition from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press and the Cleveland Press Club. He collaborated on an innovative project called “Ohio: Look at the State We’re In” that analyzed where Ohio ranked on various quality of life issues. That collaboration earned Dyer and two other reporters nominations for the 2003 Pulitzer Prize.
That experience helped Rep. Dyer develop the ability to ask the tough questions and demand solutions at the Statehouse. Rep. Dyer believes that skill defines his role in the House, and he believes that his questions have led to answers that create better laws. He has a strong desire to improve education, health care, and the job market throughout the state.
Rep. Dyer has poured the bulk of his time and energy into issues central to growing Ohio’s future. He has sponsored legislation to protect people from buying or renting property that was once used as a methamphetamine lab; to expose contractors who are deemed “non-responsible bidders”; to improve the records kept in legislative committee meetings so that the public can learn about the work being done on their behalf; and to help transfer Ohio’s wounded from unhealthy conditions at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He is re-introducing several of these initiatives in the 128th General Assembly.
He has a demonstrated ability to reach across the aisle to get things done. As a freshman member of the minority party in the 127th General Assembly, he was able to have passed into law three provisions: naming a portion of I-76 after Luke “Doc” Emch and Matthew “Doc” Conte – two Navy corpsmen killed in Iraq, creating a free license plate for Purple Heart recipients, and allowing absentee ballots to be counted as long as they were postmarked before the election, regardless of when the Board of Elections received them.
Rep. Dyer is the son of educators who is also a classically-trained singer. He drives home nearly every night – no matter how late – after each legislative session to keep a promise to his wife Melissa, and to remain grounded in his hometown and his district. The Dyers have a son, Logan, and are expecting another son this Spring.
