Derek Scott Merrin (born January 4, 1986) is an American politician serving as the state representative for the 42nd District of the
Ohio House of Representatives. He is a
Republican. The district includes western
Lucas County, south
Toledo
Toledo most commonly refers to:
* Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain
* Province of Toledo, Spain
* Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States
Toledo may also refer to:
Places Belize
* Toledo District
* Toledo Settlement
Bolivia
* Toledo, Orur ...
,
Maumee, and
Springfield Township.
Life and career
Merrin was born in
Smithtown, New York on
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
, and moved to
Waterville, Ohio
Waterville is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, along the Maumee River, a suburb of Toledo. The population was 6,003 at the 2020 census.
History
Waterville was platted in 1830 by settler John Pray on the west bank of the upper Maume ...
, with his family when he was thirteen years old. His father, Russ Merrin, was a public-school teacher and pastored Monclova Road Baptist Church for twenty-three years. Merrin's mother, Norma, was a registered nurse. Merrin is a graduate of
Monclova Christian Academy. In addition, Merrin holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the
University of Toledo
The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a public research university in Toledo, Ohio. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, which includes the University of T ...
and a Master of Public Administration degree from
Bowling Green State University. He attended
Owens Community College
Owens Community College (OCC) is a public community college with campuses in Toledo and Findlay, Ohio. Owens was founded in 1965 in Toledo and chartered in 1967. The Findlay campus opened in 1983. Owens Community College is named after Micha ...
before transferring to UT.
Merrin was elected to the Waterville City Council, a city of just over 6000 people, at the age of nineteen. Two years later, he was elected Mayor. Along with his time in public office, Merrin previously worked for
Ohio Auditor
The Ohio State Auditor (formally known as the Auditor of State) is responsible for auditing all the public offices of the state of Ohio. The auditor is elected to a four-year term. The current Auditor is Keith Faber.
References
External links ...
Dave Yost
David Anthony Yost (born December 22, 1956) is an American politician, Republican, and lawyer who currently serves as the 51st Attorney General of Ohio.
Education and career
Yost graduated from Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Arts de ...
. In 2012 he was named 'Thirty Conservatives Under Thirty' by Red Alert Politics.
Ohio House of Representatives
With Representative
Barbara Sears
Barbara R. Sears (born December 5, 1966) is a Republican politician who formerly represented the 47th District of the Ohio House of Representatives from 2008 to 2016. She served as the Majority Floor Leader in the Ohio House of Representatives. ...
term-limited in 2016, Merrin entered the race to succeed her. He won a three-way primary against Republicans Vicki Donovan-Lyle and Kevin Haddad, with over 45% of the vote.
Sears resigned from the seat before the end of her term to take a position in the administration of
Ohio Governor John Kasich. As the winner of the Republican primary, Ohio House Republicans led by
Speaker of the House
The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England.
Usage
The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...
Cliff Rosenberger
Cliff Rosenberger (born April 23, 1981) is a former American politician who was a Republican member of the Ohio House of Representatives, serving the 91st District from 2011 until 2018. He was Speaker of the House from 2015 until 2018. It was ann ...
appointed Merrin to serve the remainder of Sears' term. He was sworn into office on August 2, 2016, and won the ensuing general election over Democrat Lauri Cooper.
Merrin was re-elected in 2018 and 2020, with nearly 60% of the vote each time. Following re-districting, Merrin's district was made substantially more Democratic, losing conservative western Lucas County while adding parts of the city of Toledo and inner ring suburbs. Despite this, Merrin carried the Democrat-leaning (D+2) 47th House District by nearly eight points, 53.9%-46.1% over Democrat Erika White.
In 2022, Merrin lost the Speaker election to
Jason Stephens, who had bipartisan support, by 54 to 43 votes.
References
External links
Campaign websiteOhio State Representative Derek Merrin''official site''
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merrin, Derek
1986 births
21st-century American legislators
Bowling Green State University alumni
Businesspeople from Ohio
Living people
People from Smithtown, New York
People from Waterville, Ohio
Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives
University of Toledo alumni