COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The late Jo Ann Davidson, Ohio’s first and only female House speaker, was remembered during a Statehouse memorial service Thursday for blazing trails for women with grit, grace and a guiding spirit. Dozens of the Republican women she had mentored wore red in her honor, splashing the packed atrium with her signature “power color.” Davidson, who died Friday at 97, had been a force in state and national Republican politics for nearly 60 years.
Besides her time as a powerful House speaker, she served as an adviser and campaign consultant to presidents and governors and as co-chair of the Republican National Committee. “Jo Ann fought for her place in politics at a time when politics was dominated by men,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine told the crowd of current and former elected officials, journalists, party leaders, and politicos of several generations.
“She made her place through grit, determination, hard work, tenacity, integrity and a belief in herself, and she wanted other women to believe in themselves, as well.” "All of us have lost a true Ohio legend, a trailblazer, a leader, a role model, friend, deeply devoted public servant,” DeWine said. Former Republican U.
S. Rep. Deborah Pryce said she was among the many aspiring candidates whom Davidson nurtured.
That was before she established the Jo Ann Davidson Ohio Leadership Institute, a Columbus-based training center for women in business and politics through which Davidson guided some 400 women.
