Bride Rose Sweeney is a three-term Democratic member of the Ohio House of Representatives for Western

Cuyahoga County Cuyahoga County ( or ) is a large urban County (United States), county located in the Northeast Ohio, northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is situated on the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the Canada–United States border, U.S.- ...

, serving as

Ranking Member In United States politics, a ranking member is the most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the minority party. On many committees the ranking minority member, along with the Chair, serve as ''ex officio'' members ...

of the Ohio House Finance Committee and the lead Democratic sponsor of the bipartisan Fair School Funding Plan that became law on July 1, 2021. Sweeney is also the only woman on the Ohio Controlling Board, which oversees the release of taxpayer dollars. When she was elected in November 2018, Sweeney became the first woman ever to represent her district at the Statehouse and the youngest Democratic member of the

133rd Ohio General Assembly The One Hundred Thirty-Third Ohio General Assembly was a meeting of the Ohio state legislature, composed of the Ohio State Senate and the Ohio House of Representatives. It convened in Columbus, Ohio on January 7, 2019 and adjourned December 31, ...

Life and career

Bride Rose Sweeney (born on July 21, 1992) is named after her Irish-American grandmother Bride Ann Sweeney. She attended Saint Joseph Academy and then John Carroll University, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts and studied political science, business, and leadership. After college, Sweeney joined

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

’s Legislative Service Commission Fellowship, a competitive and prestigious public service program that prepares the state’s next generation of leaders. Before her election to the Ohio House, she worked in a variety of roles in the

Ohio Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the se ...

, including as a senior advisor to the Minority Leader and a

legislative aide A legislative assistant (LA) or legislative analyst is a person who works for a legislator as a legislative staffer, a government agency as a legislative affairs professional, or in the government relations and regulatory affairs industry by monitor ...

to Senator

Lou Gentile Louis "Lou" Gentile (born July 28, 1979) is an American politician formerly serving as the senator for the 30th District of the Ohio Senate. He was also previously a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, serving briefly in 2011 prior to h ...

, an Appalachian Democrat. Representative Sweeney has been named Democratic Rising Star by Cleveland.com for three years in a row. In 2022, she was recognized by the Ohio Election Officials Association as a leading voice for democracy and voting rights. She is the daughter of Martin J. Sweeney, who is a former President of Cleveland City Council and a member of the 131st and 132nd Ohio General Assembly.

Ohio House of Representatives

Elections

Rep. Sweeney was first elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

on November 6, 2018, winning 72 percent of the vote over 28 percent of

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

candidate Ryan McClain. Shortly after the election, the Ohio House Democratic Caucus appointed her to fill the vacancy in the seat she had just won, allowing her to take office early. Notably, she was uncontested in her 2020

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

after having to clear a four-person primary on May 8, 2018. Rep. Sweeney sought re-election to a second term on November 3, 2020 against a Republican opponent. She won a clear victory, beating her opponent by a 16.9% margin and with 58.4% of the total vote. In her district, Sweeney won by a 6% larger margin and with 3.6% more votes than Joe Biden, who still carried it by a strong 10.9% margin. Some of her success may be attributed to keeping Brook Park and other working-class areas solidly in her column.

Committees

In the 133rd General Assembly, Rep. Sweeney served on the Finance Committee, the Commerce and Labor Committee, the Insurance Committee, and as Ranking Member of the Finance Subcommittee on High Education. In the 134th General Assembly, Rep. Sweeney serves as the Ranking Member of the Finance Committee, as well as on the Finance Subcommittee on Primary and Secondary Education, the Financial Institutions Committee, the Insurance Committee. Prior to her appointment as Finance Ranking Member, she was the Ranking Member of the Government Oversight Committee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweeney, Bride Rose Sweeney, Bride Rose Living people 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Women state legislators in Ohio 1992 births John Carroll University alumni