Gregory L. DiDonato of Dennison, Ohio

Dennison, Ohio

Dennison is a village in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,992 at the 2000 census, while the 2006 Census Bureau estimate listed a population of 2,908.- History :...

, is an American politician of the Democratic party. While still in high school, DiDonato was elected to the village council of Dennison, Ohio. At age 21, he was elected mayor of the Village of Dennison. He was re-elected mayor in 1987. While in college, he worked as a baker. Afterwards, he worked for a grocery distribution company. In 1990, DiDonato won a seat in the Ohio House of Representatives

Ohio House of Representatives

The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate....

, serving the 97th district. In 1994, DiDonato was the Democratic nominee for a seat in the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 to replace retiring Democratic incumbent Douglas Applegate

Douglas Applegate

Douglas "Doug" Applegate is a former member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio. Applegate is a Democrat....

. DiDonato lost that race to Robert W. Ney

Bob Ney

Robert William Ney is an American politician from the U.S. state of Ohio. A Republican, Ney represented Ohio's 18th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 until November 3, 2006, when he resigned...

. He was minority leader

Minority leader

In U.S. politics, the minority leader is the floor leader of the second largest caucus in a legislative body. Given the two-party nature of the U.S. system, the minority leader is almost inevitably either a Republican or a Democrat, with their counterpart being of the opposite party. The position...

 of the Ohio State Senate. He served as a delegate for John Edwards

John Edwards

Johnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician, who served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in...

 on the Ohio delegation to the 2004 Democratic National Convention

2004 Democratic National Convention

The 2004 Democratic National Convention convened from July 26 to July 29, 2004 at the FleetCenter in Boston, Massachusetts, and nominated John Kerry and John Edwards as the official candidates of the Democratic Party for President and Vice President of the United States, respectively, in the 2004...

 in Boston. DiDonato was elected to the Ohio Senate in 1996. His most recent term ended in January 2005. He was prevented by Ohio's term limits law from seeking a third consecutive term in the Senate. DiDonato was again elected as mayor of Dennison, Ohio in 2007. He stepped down to become the chairman of Tuscarawas County Democratic Party.