White, Michael R., 1951-

<p><b>RACES</b>
<ul>
<li>11/04/1997 Cleveland Mayor Won 60.90% (+21.81%)</li>
<li>11/02/1993 Cleveland Mayor Won 84.42% (+68.85%)</li>
<li>11/07/1989 Cleveland Mayor Won 55.73% (+11.47%)</li>
<li>10/03/1989 Cleveland Mayor - Primary Won 25.38% (+0.00%)</li>
</ul>
</p>

<p>Senator Michael White grew up in Cleveland and attended Glenville High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in education and a master's degree in public administration from Ohio State University. In the mid 1970s, he served as an aide to then Columbus Mayor Tom Moody. White returned to Cleveland in 1977 to represent the community of Glenville on Cleveland's City Council. He served on the Finance Committee and was a chairman of the Community Development Committee before his appointment to the Ohio Senate in 1984.</p>

<p>In the Ohio Senate, White authored Ohio's spousal rape provisions and sponsored legislation to increase the penalties for rape. He also sponsored anti-drug legislation, establishing Ohio's toughest penalties for drug-related crimes. White also helped provide prescription drug benefits for the elderly. In 1985, the voters returned White to the Senate, where his peers twice placed him in leadership positions and where he served on the Judiciary, Ways and Means, Rules, and Health and Human Services Committees.</p>

<p>In 1989, White, then 38 years of age, won Cleveland's mayoral race, pledging commitment to public safety, education, neighborhood revitalization, economic and job development, and race relations. Under his leadership over the next eleven years, Cleveland experienced a significant comeback. Cleveland's crime rate declined by twenty-five percent, seven new industrial parks were developed, and nearly 30,000 jobs were created.</p>

<p>Michael White (born August 13, 1951) is an American politician of the Democratic Party and was the 55th and second longest-serving mayor of Cleveland, Ohio encompassing three four-year terms, from 1990 to 2002. He was Cleveland's second African American mayor as well as the city's second youngest mayor.</p>

<p>White, who grew up in Cleveland's Glenville neighborhood, began his political career early on during his college years at Ohio State University, when he protested against the discriminatory policies of the Columbus public bus system and was subsequently arrested. White then ran the following year for Student Union President and won, becoming the college's first black student body leader. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1973 and a Master of Public Administration degree in 1974.</p>

<p>After college, White returned to Cleveland. He served from 1976 to 1977 as an administrative assistant to the Cleveland City Council and then served as city councilman from the Glenville area from 1978 to 1984. During his time on the City Council, White became a prominent protégé of Councilman George L. Forbes. White then represented the area's 21st District in the Ohio Senate, serving as a Democratic assistant minority whip.</p>