Kilroy, Mary Jo, 1949-

<p>Mary Jo Kilroy (born April 30, 1949) is the former U.S. Representative for Ohio's 15th congressional district, serving from 2009 until 2011. She is a member of the Democratic Party from Ohio. She introduced a bill to lend $20 million per year to small businesses (HR5322) and an amendment to assign liability to credit reporting agencies. She also contributed to legislation on executive pay. She was defeated in her November 2, 2010 re-election bid. In 2012, she ran in the newly redrawn, Columbus-based 3rd congressional district but lost in the primary.</p>

<p>She is an attorney and a former two-term County Commissioner of Franklin County, Ohio, which includes the capital city of Columbus and some of its surrounding suburban and rural areas. Previously, she served two four-year terms on the Columbus School Board after working in private practice.</p>

<p>In both the 2006 and 2008 United States House of Representatives elections, Kilroy was involved in close elections for Ohio's 15th congressional district. She lost in 2006 after an election that required the counting of absentee ballots and election recounts. However, after the incumbent retired, she won a similarly close election in 2008. In both cases, she was behind after the Election Day vote tabulations, but made up significant ground with belated absentee ballot voting results. The 2010 election race was widely followed in the mainstream press as a race that the Republicans were targeting.</p>

<p>In 2008, after almost 20 years of public service in Ohio, Mary Jo Kilroy was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Using her committee assignments and personal experiences, Kilroy focused much of her attention on issues that dominated the 111th Congress (2009–2011): financial reform, health care, and homeland security. “Central Ohio needs a change in leadership,” Kilroy said. “I look forward to using the experience and knowledge I have gained here at home to make a much needed change in Washington.”</p>

<p>Mary Jo Kilroy was born on April 30, 1949, to John B. and Mary A. Kilroy. She was raised in Ohio, and graduated from Villa Angela Academy in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1967. She received a BA in political science from Cleveland State University and went on to earn her JD at Ohio State University. She married Robert Handelman, with whom she worked as a lawyer in their private practice firm. They raised two daughters, Julia and Rosa, and resided in Columbus, Ohio.</p>

<p>Kilroy first became involved in public service after winning a seat on the Columbus board of education in 1991. She served two terms (1992–1999) and was elected president of the board in 1999. In 1996 Kilroy ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Ohio state senate. After declining to stand for a third term on the board of education, Kilroy ran instead for Franklin County commissioner in 2000; she won and was re-elected in 2004. From 2005 to 2007, she served as president of the commission where she worked to expand county residents’ eligibility for state-run assistance programs and to increase funding for low-income housing.</p>