Jim Rhodes
Jim Rhodes | |
---|---|
Mayor of Columbus | |
In office 1944–1952 | |
Preceded by | Floyd F. Green |
Succeeded by | Robert T. Oestreicher |
Personal details | |
Born | James Allen Rhodes September 13, 1909 Green Lawn Cemetery Columbus, Ohio |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse |
Helen Rawlins
(m. 1941; died 1987) |
Children | 3 |
Education | Springfield High School |
Alma mater | Ohio State University |
James Allen Rhodes (September 13, 1909 – March 4, 2001) was an American attorney and
On May 3, 1970, Rhodes sent
Early life and education
Rhodes was born in Coalton, Ohio, to James and Susan Howe Rhodes, who were of Welsh descent.[2] Rhodes has commented that the reason he and his family were Republicans was because of the respect his father, a mine superintendent, had for John L. Lewis, a prominent Republican union activist.[3] When Rhodes was nine, his father died, and the family moved to north Springfield where Rhodes graduated from Springfield High School where he played on the football team. Subsequently, the family moved again, this time to Columbus, because Rhodes earned a modest basketball scholarship to Ohio State University. Although Rhodes dropped out after his first quarter he is often described as a "student" or "alumnus" of Ohio State.[2]
After dropping out of college, Rhodes opened a business called Jim's Place across from the university on
Political career
Mayor of Columbus, 1944–1952
In 1934, Rhodes began to use his position as a local businessman to climb up the Columbus political ladder, starting on a ward committee.
Rhodes's time as mayor is primarily marked by two achievements, with the first being his convincing of 67% of Columbus voters to approve the city's first income tax, and the second being his successful use of water gun diplomacy to annex much of the surrounding suburbs to Columbus. As surrounding communities grew or were constructed, they came to require access to waterlines, which was under the sole control of the municipal water system. Rhodes told these communities that if they wanted water, they would have to submit to assimilation into Columbus. As a result of this, Columbus, Ohio, currently has the largest land area of any Ohio city.[5]
Governor of Ohio
With an eye on the governorship, Rhodes was elected State Auditor in 1952, and took office in early 1953. In 1954, Rhodes ran against the popular incumbent,
Rhodes served two terms as governor, and he also was a "
Rhodes oversaw the last two (by
Rhodes championed a county airport program which, after being passed by voters in 1965, saw the construction of 50 airports throughout the state.[10]
At a news conference in Kent, Ohio, on Sunday May 3, 1970, the day before the Kent State shootings, he said of campus protesters:
They're worse than the
vigilantes. They're the worst type of people that we harbor in America.[11]
Since the
On August 16, 1977 Rhodes was hit in the face and shoulder with a banana cream pie thrown by Steve Conliff, as about 25 young people disrupted the opening of the Ohio State Fair. Conliff then ran unsuccessfully against Rhodes for the Republican nomination.
After relations between the United States and People's Republic of China normalized in 1979, Rhodes sought to encourage economic ties, viewing China as a potential market for Ohio machinery exports for companies like Timken Company and Parker Hannifin.[13]: 112 In July 1979, Rhodes led a State of Ohio Trade Mission to China.[13]: 112 Among other leaders, Rhodes met with Vice Premier Yu Qiuli.[13]: 112–113 The trip resulted in developing economic ties, a sister state-province relationship with Hubei province, long-running Chinese exhibitions at the Ohio State Fair, and major academic exchanges between Ohio State University and Wuhan University.[13]: 113 Rhodes also developed the view that Chinese investment in Ohio would be beneficial for the state.[13]: 112
Rhodes ran for the governorship again in 1986, seeking a record-breaking fifth term, but soundly lost to the incumbent Dick Celeste, whom Rhodes had narrowly defeated in his last successful gubernatorial bid in 1978.
Literary
Rhodes co-authored stories of historical fiction with Dean Jauchius, including The Trial of Mary Todd Lincoln, The Court-Martial of Oliver Hazard Perry and Johnny Shiloh, a novel of the Civil War.[14] The last was adapted to a 1963 television movie by Walt Disney, also called Johnny Shiloh, for which Rhodes received writer's credit.[citation needed]
Personal life
From 1941 to her death in 1987, Rhodes was married to Helen Rawlins. They had three children.[6]
In 1995, Rhodes suffered a stroke, resulting in him needing to use a wheelchair. He was hospitalized due to pneumonia in December 2000 and January 2001. On March 4, 2001, Rhodes died at
Legacy
Numerous buildings and sites around the state have been named in Rhodes's honor, including:
- The James A. Rhodes State Office Tower – the tallest building in Columbus
- Statue in front of namesake office tower in Columbus
- Cleveland State University's Rhodes Tower in Cleveland
- University Hospital
- The James A. Rhodes Arena (locally nicknamed as "The JAR") at the University of Akron
- James A. Rhodes State College in Lima, Ohio.
- The Rhodes Center at the Ohio Expo Center and State Fair in Columbus
- The James A. Rhodes Appalachian Highway, Ohio State Route 32
- The James A. Rhodes Athletic Center, Shawnee State University
- James A. Rhodes Airport, in Jackson, Ohio
Electoral history
1962 election
Jim Rhodes won the gubernatorial election, defeating sitting Governor Michael DiSalle 58.92% to 41.08%.
1966 election
Jim Rhodes won a second term, defeating Frazier Reams Jr. 62.18% to 37.82%
1974 election
Jim Rhodes won a third term, defeating sitting Governor John J. Gilligan 48.62% to 48.25%.
1978 election
Jim Rhodes won a fourth term, defeating Dick Celeste 49.31% to 47.64%.
1986 election
Jim Rhodes sought a fifth term at the age of seventy-seven, losing to sitting Governor Dick Celeste 39.4% to 60.6%. This was his last campaign for Governor.
Notes
- .
References
- ^ Ostermeier, Eric (April 10, 2013). "The Top 50 Longest-Serving Governors of All Time". Smart Politics.
- ^ a b c d Zimmerman, p. 85-108.
- ^ Zimmerman, p. 86.
- ^ Zimmerman, p. 86, 87.
- ^ a b Zimmerman, p. 87.
- ^ a b c Leonard, Lee (March 5, 2001). "Ohio loses political icon". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on March 8, 2001. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- ^ Zimmerman, p. 92.
- ^ Zimmerman, p. 93.
- ^ "Ohio Executions". Archived from the original on February 23, 2008. Retrieved April 14, 2008. The History Of Executions in America Before Lethal Injection. Retrieved from Internet Archive 25 January 2014.
- ^ La Porte, Todd (December 1974). Interactions of Technology and Society: Impacts of Improved Airtransport, a Study of Airports at the Grass Roots (Report). Institute of Governmental Studies, University of California. pp. 75–89. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
- ^
Bills, Shirley; Bills, Scott L. (1988), "Scott L. Bills", in Scott L. Bills (ed.), Kent State/May 4: Echoes Through a Decade, Kent, Ohio: The Kent State University Press, p. 13, ISBN 978-0-87338-360-8
- ^ ISBN 0-465-04195-7
- ^ ISBN 978-1-5381-8725-8.
- ^ "Rhodes, James A. (James Allen) 1909–2001". OCLC WorldCat Identities.
Bibliography
- Zimmerman, Richard Z. (2007), Lamis, Alexander P.; Usher, Brian (eds.), Ohio Politics: Revised and Updated, Kent, Ohio: The Kent State University Press, pp. 85–108, ISBN 978-0-87338-613-5
- Diemer, Tom; Leonard, Lee; Zimmerman, Richard (2014). James A. Rhodes, Ohio Colossus. Kent State University Press. ISBN 978-1606352151.
External links
- James A. Rhodes at Ohio History Central
- Jim Rhodes at Find a Grave
- Jim Rhodes at Political Graveyard
- Ohio Expo Center
- Ohio State Fair