Harry Meshel (June 13, 1924 – September 4, 2017) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Democratic politician. He served as the president of the

Ohio State 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 ...

and chairman of the

Ohio Democratic Party The Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Ohio. Summit County Council President Elizabeth Walters has been the party's chairwoman since January 2021. U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown is the top Oh ...

. Meshel is noted for his legislative efforts on behalf of the disabled, economic development, and solid and hazardous waste disposal.

Early years

He was born in

Youngstown Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, which ...

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 ...

on June 13, 1924, to

Greek-American Greek Americans ( el, Ελληνοαμερικανοί ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. The lowest estimate is that 1.2 million Americans are of Greek descent while the highest es ...

parents, Rubena (Markakis) and Angelo Michelakis, whose surname was

Americanized Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of American culture and business on other countries outside the United States of America, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, tech ...

to Meshel. Harry graduated from Youngstown's East High School in 1941.Cole, Ron
Governor names Harry Meshel to YSU Board of Trustees
''YSU News'', 31 May 2007. Meshel served in the

Naval Construction Battalion , colors = , mascot = Bumblebee , battles = Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Cape Gloucester, Los Negros, Guam, Peleliu, Tarawa, Kwajalein, Saipan, Tinian, Iwo Jima, Philippi ...

, or SeeBees, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

from 1943 to 1946. He was awarded two Bronze Battle Stars for the battle of

Leyte Gulf Leyte Gulf is a gulf in the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. The bay is part of the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, and is bounded by two islands; Samar in the north and Leyte in the west. On the south of the bay is Mindanao Isl ...

in 1944. He earned a bachelor's degree in business from Youngstown College in 1949. As an undergraduate, he was Student Council president and vice president of the senior class. Meshel received a master's degree in urban land economics from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1950. That same year he became a limited instructor at Youngstown College, while also working in investment, real estate, and insurance.

Political career

In the 1960s, Meshel waged two unsuccessful campaigns for Mahoning County commissioner. He became an administrative assistant to Youngstown Mayor Anthony Flask in 1964, and served as

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

director in 1969. Meshel entered electoral politics in 1970, when he ran for a seat in the

. In 1971, he was elected to the 33rd District of the Ohio Senate, and he was re-elected five times. Meshel became the Senate's majority whip and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. In 1980, Meshel ran for a seat in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

but lost to

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

incumbent Lyle Williams. That same year, the Democrats lost the majority in the state Senate and Meshel replaced Oliver Ocasek, who had been president of the Ohio Senate, as the party's leader in the senate. Meshel served as minority leader from 1981 to 1982. During his five terms in the Ohio Senate, Meshel was credited with helping to secure almost $150 million in capital improvements for Youngstown State University. In addition, he secured more than $160 million in grants and loans from the Ohio Department of Development for economic development projects. Meshel also worked to create the Northeastern Universities College of Medicine, the College of Osteopathic Medicine at

Ohio University Ohio University is a Public university, public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confeder ...

, the

Wright State University Wright State University is a public research university in Fairborn, Ohio. Originally opened in 1964 as a branch campus of Miami University and Ohio State University, it became an independent institution in 1967 and was named in honor of aviation ...

School of Professional psychology, and other programs.

Boxing

Meshel helped create the Ohio Boxing Commission, which eventually became th
Ohio Athletic Commission
Gulas, Greg
Harry Meshel is anxious to get WATTS Center up
''The Vindicator'', 24 March 2009. From 1994, Meshel was also a supervisor for the International Boxing Council.

Later years

In 1986, YSU named its new technology center Meshel Hall in his honor, as he helped secure funding for the project. In 1994, he received the YSU Distinguished Alumni Award. In 1993, Meshel resigned from the Ohio Senate to become chairman of the

, a position he held until 1995. In May 2007, Ohio Governor

Ted Strickland Theodore Strickland (born August 4, 1941) is an American politician who was the 68th governor of Ohio, serving from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, representing ...

named Meshel to a nine-year term as a trustee of Youngstown State University. He also works as a lobbyist. He was honored for spearheading the creation of the

Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor The Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor, located in Youngstown, Ohio, preserves the history of the steel industry that dominated the Youngstown area's economic life for much of the 20th century. The museum is owned by the Ohio Histo ...

, which celebrated its 15th anniversary in September 2007. Meshel has a street, "Meshel Way" named after him in

Struthers, Ohio Struthers is a city in eastern Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, along the Mahoning River. The population was 10,063 at the 2020 census. Located directly southeast of Youngstown, it is a suburb of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area. ...

. Meshel also has a hall named after him at NEOMED. Meshel died on September 4, 2017.Longtime Valley politician Harry Meshel passes away
/ref>

Personal life

Harry married the former Judy Lazich on July 25, 1948. They had two children, Barry and Melanie. He was a member of the

Greek Orthodox Church The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also call ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meshel, Harry 1924 births 2017 deaths Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Youngstown State University alumni Youngstown State University faculty Military personnel from Ohio Presidents of the Ohio Senate Democratic Party Ohio state senators American people of Greek descent Politicians from Youngstown, Ohio Businesspeople from Ohio 20th-century American businesspeople