A Representative from Ohio; born in Martins Ferry, Belmont County, Ohio, January 18, 1943; B.G.S., Ohio University, 1980; Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science; business owner; member of the Ohio state house of representatives, 1997-2004; member of the Ohio state senate, 2005-2007; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Tenth and to the succeeding Congress (January 3, 2007-January 3, 2011); unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the One Hundred Twelfth Congress in 2010.