Joseph Koziura is a 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...

 politician who served 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....

 from 1985 to 1995 and again from 2001 until 2010.

Life and career

A native of Lorain, Ohio

Lorain, Ohio

Lorain is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River, about 30 miles west of Cleveland....

, Koziura first ran and won a seat in the Ohio House of Representatives in 1984. He quickly rose in the ranks, and worked as an advocate for new development and innovation for his hometown of Lorain. Notably, Koziura was an early advocate for casinos in 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...

. He also championed women's rights

Women's rights

Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...

 law early in his career, and voting rights. Koziura was also influential on education initiatives, working closely with Ohio Governor George Voinovich

George Voinovich

George Victor Voinovich is a former United States Senator from the state of Ohio, and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, he served as the 65th Governor of Ohio from 1991 to 1998, and as the 54th mayor of Cleveland from 1980 to 1989.-Personal life:Born in Cleveland, Ohio, his father was...

 throughout the 1990s.

In 1995, Koziura ran for Mayor of Lorain. He campaigned on the basis of his experience in the Ohio House. He won the election, took office on January 3, 1996, resigned from his House seat, and was succeeded by Dan Metelsky

Dan Metelsky

Dan Metelsky was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 1996-2001. His district consisted of a portion of Lorain County, Ohio. He was succeeded by Joseph Koziura....

. His time as mayor was marked by colorful events, including a time when a felon threatened and punched Koziura while in his office. Soon after, he was arrested for drunken driving.

Return to the Ohio House of Representatives

By 2001, Metelsky had resigned to seek another office, leaving Koziura's former seat open again. Wanting out of the mayor's office, he accepted an appointment back in his old seat in the Ohio House. He was sworn into office on October 30, 2001, and won a full term in November 2002. He won reelection in 2004, and again in 2006. By 2008, Democrats had again attained control of the House, and Koziura was named to several powerful committees.

Because of term limits, he was unable to run for reelection in 2010, after nine years in the post. He ran for county commissioner in Lorain County

Lorain County, Ohio

Lorain County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio, and is considered to be a part of what is locally referred to as Greater Cleveland. As of the 2010 census, its population was 301,356. an increase from 284,664 in 2000...

. In an overwhelmingly Republican year, Koziura lost the election, and was thus out of office for the first time in over 25 years. He has since returned to Lorain.