Jennifer Garrison is an American politician of the Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 party from Marietta

Marietta, Ohio

Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Ohio, United States. During 1788, pioneers to the Ohio Country established Marietta as the first permanent American settlement of the new United States in the Northwest Territory. Marietta is located in southeastern Ohio at the mouth...

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. She served terms representing the 93rd District 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....

, which includes Guernsey

Guernsey County, Ohio

Guernsey County is a county located in the state of Ohio. As of 2010, the population was 40,087. Its county seat is Cambridge and is named for the Isle of Guernsey in the English Channel, from which many of the county's early settlers came....

, Monroe

Monroe County, Ohio

Monroe County is a county located in the state of Ohio. As of the 2010 census, the population was 14,642. Its county seat is Woodsfield and is named for James Monroe, Secretary of State when the county was formed and later President of the United States....

, Noble

Noble County, Ohio

Noble County is a county located in the state of Ohio. As of the 2010 census, the population was 14,645. Its county seat is Caldwell. Noble County is named for Rep. Warren P. Noble of the Ohio House of Representatives, who was an early settler there.-History:...

 counties, most of Washington County

Washington County, Ohio

Washington County is a county located in the state of Ohio. As of the 2010 census, the population was 61,778. Its county seat is Marietta. The county, the oldest in the state, is named for George Washington. Washington County is included in the Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna, West Virginia-Ohio...

, and part of Muskingum County

Muskingum County, Ohio

Muskingum County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 86,074. Its county seat is Zanesville...

, all in southeast Ohio. On August 3, 2009 Garrison announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Ohio Secretary of State

Ohio Secretary of State

The Secretary of State is responsible for overseeing elections in the State of Ohio. The Secretary of State also is responsible for registering business entities and granting them the authority to do business within the state, registering secured transactions, and granting access to public...

. Garrison withdrew from the Ohio Secretary of State race in January 2010.

Biography

Jennifer Garrison was born in Fort Thomas, Kentucky, the daughter of a union plumber. She earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and business administration from Xavier University, and a law degree from Catholic University

The Catholic University of America

The Catholic University of America is a private university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops...

 Law School in Washington, D.C. While in college, she worked as an intern for the Congressional Budget Office

Congressional Budget Office

The Congressional Budget Office is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides economic data to Congress....

, and for the Ohio Department of Transportation and Ohio Department of Natural Resources as a legislative assistant in Washington.

Garrison then completed a judicial clerkship in Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

 and became a practicing attorney. She moved to Marietta in 1990, joining the law firm of McCauley, Webster & Emrick, where she became a partner in 1993. Three years later, she opened a private law practice, concentrating on family mediation. She ran the Washington County Visitation Mediation Project for seven years, providing free mediation to parents working out their custody and visitation conflicts. She has served on the boards of the domestic violence shelter EVE and the Washington County Mental Health & Alcohol Addiction Board, and as Commissioner on the Marietta Civil Service Board.

Garrison is licensed to practice law in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. She served as president of the Washington County, Ohio Bar Association from 1996 to 1997.

Ohio House of Representatives

In 2004, Garrison unseated former twelve-day Ohio Gov. Nancy P. Hollister to win her seat with 51.6% of the vote. The campaign was highlighted by a sharp contrast between the candidates, with Garrison being to the right of Hollister on gay marriage, abortion

Abortion

Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...

 rights and taxation.

On the issue of gay marriage, Garrison criticized Hollister's opposition to the Ohio Defense of Marriage Act. On the issue of taxation, she criticized Hollister's vote for then-Governor Bob Taft's revenue plan.

In 2006, Garrison was reelected with 71% of the vote against Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 challenger Donald J. Gadd, mayor of Byesville, Ohio

Byesville, Ohio

Byesville is a village in Guernsey County, Ohio, United States, along Wills Creek. The population was 2,574 as of the 2000 census.-Geography:Byesville is located at ....

. She currently serves as Ranking Member of the Juvenile and Family Law Committee, and also sits on the Education, Public Utilities and Energy, and Finance and Appropriations Committees and the Primary and Secondary Education Subcommittee.

She won reelection in 2008 with 68% of the vote against Republican Wayne Smith.

External links

• Official Ohio House web page
• Campaign web site
• Profile on the Ohio Ladies Gallery website
• Project Vote Smart profile
• Follow the Money
• 2006 2004 campaign contributions