Robert Alphonso Taft III (born January 8, 1942) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 67th governor of Ohio from 1999 to 2007. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as Ohio secretary of state from 1991 to 1999 and in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1977 to 1981.
Taft is a member of the prominent Taft political family; his father was Senator Robert Taft Jr., his grandfather was Senate majority leader Robert A. Taft, and his great-grandfather was President William Howard Taft. He was raised in Cincinnati and graduated from Yale University, the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, and the University of Cincinnati College of Law. He represented the 65th district in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1977 to 1981, then served as a Hamilton County commissioner from 1981 to 1990. After an unsuccessful run for lieutenant governor in 1986, he was elected secretary of state in 1990 and reelected in 1994.
Taft won the 1998 Ohio gubernatorial election against Democrat Lee Fisher by 5 percentage points and was reelected in 2002, defeating challenger Tim Hagan by more than 19 points. During his first term, Taft focused on economic development and education reform and maintained high approval ratings. In 2005, amid the Coingate scandal, he was indicted on four misdemeanor charges related to undisclosed gifts and illegal campaign contributions, becoming the first sitting Ohio governor charged with a crime. He pleaded no contest, was fined $4,000, and remained in office until the end of his second term in 2007. After leaving office, Taft became a faculty member at the University of Dayton beginning in 2007.
Early life and education
Taft was born on January 8, 1942 in Boston, Massachusetts, to Robert Taft Jr. and Blanca Duncan Noel. At the time, his father was in his last year at Harvard Law School; Robert Taft Jr. would later serve as a U.S. Senator from 1971 to 1976. Bob's paternal grandfather was Senate majority leader Robert A. Taft; his patrilineal great-grandfather was President and Chief Justice William Howard Taft; and his patrilineal great-great-grandfather was Attorney General and Secretary of War Alphonso Taft.
Taft was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he attended the Cincinnati Country Day School through the ninth grade and graduated from The Taft School. At Yale University, he was a member of the Yale Political Union, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in government in 1963. From 1963 to 1965, he served as a Peace Corps volunteer, teaching in Tanzania.Taft, Bob, Better Angels of Our Nature, University of Dayton website. Text of remarks by former Ohio Governor Bob Taft at The Ohio State University's Peace Corps anniversary commemorative salute, March 1, 2011. Retrieved November 18, 2015. He later attended the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, receiving a Master of Arts degree in government in 1967. He received his Juris Doctor from the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 1976.
Early political career
Taft was elected as a Republican to the Ohio House of Representatives and served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1977 to 1981, and then was Hamilton County commissioner from 1981 to 1990. He ran for Lieutenant Governor of Ohio on the ticket with Jim Rhodes in 1986, but was unsuccessful. In 1990, he was elected Ohio secretary of state, defeating incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown. He was re-elected in 1994, defeating Democratic candidate Dan Brady.
Governor of Ohio (1999–2007)
Elections
In December 1996, Taft announced he would run for governor of Ohio, becoming the first candidate to enter the race. He had been preparing for his run since 1995, raising money and securing the endorsement of term-limited incumbent George Voinovich. It was reported that a deal was made in 1990 that the state Republican Party would clear the field for Voinovich and in trade, they would clear it for Taft in 1998, but both men denied any deal taking place. Taft won the May 5, 1998 primary to become the Republican nominee. He then defeated Democrat Lee Fisher, the former Ohio attorney general, in the November 3 general election with 50 percent of the vote. He was sworn in for his first term on January 11, 1999.Long first day on job for Gov. Taft, January 11, 1999
In January 2002, it was reported that the governor had raised nearly 6 million dollars for his reelection campaign.Governor Has $5.7 Million For Re-Election Campaign, January 28, 2002 Taft had high approval ratings going into the election (near 70 percent according to some polls), and experts predicted he would easily win. In the November 5 general election, Taft defeated Democrat Tim Hagan by nearly 20 points, with just under 58 percent of the vote. He was sworn in for his second term on January 13, 2003.Taft, facing budget crisis, takes oath for second term, January 13, 2003
Economic development
The Third Frontier program, started under the Taft administration, as of 2009 was considered an enormous success in modernizing Ohio's 21st century economy. The program focuses on issuing funding for research, development, and commercialization projects to the biomedical, alternative energy, and the advanced propulsion industries and institutions, among others. Between 2003 and 2008 it dispersed $681 million, resulting in a $6.6 billion economic impact return and 41,300 jobs., Med City News, Retrieved September 21, 2009.
In 2001, Taft, along with other state leaders, met in Cleveland to unify in calling on the U.S. Congress to grant a funding request for the NASA Glenn Research Center, which was researching projects that included alternative and more efficient energy, and to designate NASA Glenn for the leadership role in biotechnology research."Former Senator Glenn, Governor Taft, Senators DeWine and Voinovich, John Lewis, John Ryan and Dennis Eckart call on community to lobby for NASA Glenn Research Center funding", Space Ref, Retrieved September 21, 2009. In 2005, Taft mandated that the Ohio Department of Transportation use of B20 biodiesel and of E85 ethanol per year, while selecting flex-fuel vehicles for new purchases. ODOT had been using alternative fuels since 1999, and owned 193 flex-fuel vehicles when this announcement was made. Taft also mandated that ethanol tanks be constructed at all new ODOT facilities."Ohio Governor Mandates DOT to use B20 and E85 Biofuels", Green Car Congress, Retrieved September 21, 2009. Later in 2005, Taft urged the U.S. Congress to extend tax credits to those who install fuel cell electricity stations. As part of the Ohio Third Frontier program, $100 million in grants had already been issued for the research of fuel cells."Taft urges fuel cell tax credit", Cincinnati Biz Journals, Retrieved September 21, 2009.
In 2003, Taft unveiled his "Jobs and Progress Plan", which was a $5 billion, 10-year agenda to improve Ohio's highways and roads."Jobs and Progress Plan" , Ohio Department of Transportation, Retrieved September 21, 2009. Among the notable projects were the $97 million Wilmington Bypass project,"Taft Announces Start of Wilmington Bypass Project" , Ohio Department of Transportation, Retrieved September 21, 2009. the $1 billion Cleveland Inner Belt project,"Taft announces highway plan" , Cleveland Plain-Dealer, Retrieved September 21, 2009. and the $220 million Veterans' Glass City Skyway in Toledo."Veterans Glass City Pylon Reaches Finished Height", Ohio Department of Transportation, Retrieved September 21, 2009.
In 2003, the state awarded $19.4 million for the creation of the Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine. Taft personally delivered the award to the institution in Cleveland. The state awarded another $8 million in 2006 from their Biomedical Research Research and Commercialization Program, which the Taft administration contributed to creating through the Third Frontier program."New Bone Graft Product Based On Stem Cell Technology" , Cleveland Clinic, Retrieved September 21, 2009."History" , Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Retrieved September 21, 2009. By 2009, the center had become recognized as a regional leader and had spun off four companies, conducted 51 clinical trials, treated over 250 patients with adult stem cells, and treated over 60 patients with other cell therapies."Cleveland quietly becoming leader in adult stem cell industry" , Cleveland Plain-Dealer, Retrieved September 21, 2009.
Taft spent considerable time during his administration promoting the Great Lakes, which included lobbying the U.S. Congress for funding devoted to restoration projects, and signing pacts that included 8 Great Lakes states and 2 Canadian provinces to preserve the area."U.S., Canadian Officials Sign Great Lakes Water Pact", Environmental News Network, Retrieved September 22, 2009. These pacts included "The Strategy to Restore and Protect the Great Lakes", which called for a $20 billion investment, cleanup, and renewal of the lakes, "The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement", which aimed to prevent new damage to the region, and "The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact"."Great Lakes Pacts Would Boost Jobs" , Michigan Land Use Institute, Retrieved September 22, 2009. In 2001, Taft agreed to "Annex 2001", an addition to the Great Lakes Charter."Taft Joins Great Lakes Leaders to Sign Historic Agreements to Protect Great Lakes" , Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Retrieved September 22, 2009. In 2008, he joined the Board of Directors of the Alliance for the Great Lakes to help promote effective implementation of the Compact.
In early 2006, Taft announced his "Energy Action Plan", which included doubling the use of E85 ethanol in state fleets from to 60,000, increasing the use of biodiesel in state fleets by annually, while mandating the purchase of flex-fuel only vehicles for the state fleet, and allocating $3.6 million from the Energy Loan Fund to make state buildings energy efficient. The plan also called for $25 million from the Energy Loan Fund to be set aside over five years for wind turbine producing companies, and to set aside a grant of 1.2 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity produced by wind energy. Taft called for a pilot program to create jet fuel from coal, moving Ohio's geological information on fossil fuel sources to digital formats, and reaffirming the state's commitment to FutureGen, a clean coal initiative."Taft Announces Energy Action Plan" , National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, Retrieved September 21, 2009.
Between 1998 and 2007, Ohio's green industry sector grew at the fourth-highest rate in the country, 7.3%."Jobs in green industries in Ohio", Cleveland Plain-Dealer, Retrieved September 22, 2009. During Taft's tenure, Ohio was awarded the Governor's Cup twice, in 2003 and 2006. The award, selected by Site Selection Magazine, is given to the state that attracts the most business developments over $1 million, creates over 50 jobs, or constructs over 20,000 new square feet of business area during the course of a year. The honor is deemed as being considered the best state in the country for business development, attraction, and capital investment., Reuters, Retrieved September 21, 2009.
Education and workforce policy