John William Griffin (June 9, 1927 – March 23, 2006) was an Ohio farmer and a perennial candidate for various local, state, and federal offices in Ohio. While he lost far more political races than he won, at the time of his death he was a duly-elected member of the

Ohio State Board of Education 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 ...

. A resident of Miami Township in south central

Montgomery County, Ohio Montgomery County is located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 537,309, making it the fifth-most populous county in Ohio. The county seat is Dayton. The county was named in honor ...

between Miamisburg and Germantown, he irritated party and education officials with his bids for office and had been the subject of scathing articles in the

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

press. Griffin was the son of Francis and Genevieve (Stenger) Griffin. He graduated from Jefferson Township High School and attended the University of Dayton. Griffin was a Catholic and a member of the Knights of Columbus. Griffin won the Democratic nomination for

U.S. Representative 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from Ohio's Eighth Congressional District in 1976, 1980, and 1982, each time losing to Republican incumbent

Tom Kindness Thomas Norman Kindness (August 26, 1929January 8, 2004) was a member of the United States House of Representatives representing Ohio from January 3, 1975 to January 3, 1987. Life and career Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, Kindness graduated from ...

. In 1978, Griffin ran for Congress again, winning the Democratic nomination to challenge incumbent Republican Tennyson Guyer in the Fourth District. He was again unsuccessful. Griffin ran again in the Eighth District in 1986 and 1988, both times losing to Kindness's successor

Donald "Buz" Lukens Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...

. (Rather than seek re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives, Kindness had sought election to the U.S. Senate in 1986.) In 1998, Griffin again won the Democratic nomination in the Eighth District, defeating the Democratic party's endorsed candidate, but lost 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 ( ...

to Lukens's successor

John Boehner John Andrew Boehner ( ; born , 1949) is an American retired politician who served as the 53rd speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served 13 terms as the U.S. represe ...

. He sought the Democratic nomination in 2000 to challenge Boehner again, but lost the primary to John G. Parks – 15,924 (53 percent) for Parks, 14,126 (47 percent) for Griffin. In 1976, Griffin ran as an alternate delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

, pledged to U.S. Rep.

Morris K. Udall Morris King "Mo" Udall (June 15, 1922 – December 12, 1998) was an American attorney and Democratic politician who served as a U.S. representative from Arizona from May 2, 1961, to May 4, 1991. He was a leading contender for the 1976 Democra ...

( D- Arizona) for President. Griffin was an elected member 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 ...

's State Central Committee for two decades, losing his seat in the mid-1990s. He unsuccessfully sought re-election to the committee in 1998 and 2000. In 1990, he ran simultaneously for the Ohio House of Representatives from the 73rd district and the

from the Eighth District, losing both races. Griffin was elected in 1992 to the Ohio State Board of Education, defeating three-term incumbent Chester A. Roush in the Third District for a two-year term. Griffin finished second to

Diana M. Fessler Diana Fessler is a former Republican member of the Ohio House of Representatives, who represented the 79th District from 2001 to 2008 and lived in New Carlisle.

in a six-candidate field in 1994 when he ran for a full four-year term. He moved to Minster, in northern Ohio, in 1996 to run against Virginia E. Jacobs for the First District seat on the Ohio State Board of Education and lost. In 1997, 1999, and 2001, he ran for the Board of Education of the Miamisburg City School District in Montgomery County and came in last all three times. In 2001, he was last in a field of six, receiving 993 votes (9.135%). In 1998, he again ran against Fessler in the Third District and again lost. Griffin campaigned against school vouchers and for reform of school funding in Ohio. In 2002, Griffin again sought a seat on the State Board of Education. ''The Dayton Daily News'' that year ran a series of scathing pieces about Griffin's behavior during his first term on the state board and his tax problems. Dennis Lieberman, chairman of the Montgomery County Democratic Party, stated "He has constantly been an embarrassment to our whole community." Nevertheless, Griffin unseated Third District incumbent Carl Wick to return to the State Board of Education. Immediately after the election, party leaders in Dayton vowed they would try to remove him from office and the ''Daily News'' ran more scathing opinions – one writer called him a "rat" – but Griffin served on the board until his death. "I am so disillusioned with our electorate," Lieberman said after Griffin's election. Griffin died at Middletown Regional Hospital in Middletown, Ohio at age 78. "He was an advocate for children, and his work on the state board of education reflected his desire to see all Ohio students succeed in the classroom," said J.C. Benton of the Ohio Department of Education upon the occasion of Griffin's death.

References

*Leigh Allan. "Griffin conduct confounds." ''Dayton Daily News''. January 11, 2003. *"Appoint the State School Board." (Editorial). ''The Plain Dealer''. April 7, 1995. *The Associated Press. "State Board Member Owes Taxes". ''The Plain Dealer''. November 20, 1992. *Jim Bebbington and Mark Fisher. "Parties aim to oust new school board member". ''Dayton Daily News''. November 22, 2002. *"John W. Griffin". ''Dayton Daily News''. March 26, 2006. *Mark Fisher. "Critics say education board member isn't making the grade". ''Dayton Daily News''. August 7, 1994. *Mark Fisher. "State school board member Griffin dies: Farmer ran for many offices, won twice for Ohio board." ''

Middletown Journal ''The Middletown Journal'' was a morning newspaper published in Middletown, Ohio, United States seven days a week by Cox Media Group. The paper was printed at Cox's plant in Franklin, Ohio, and distributed in Butler and Warren Counties. In Septe ...

''. March 27, 2006. C3. *Mark Fisher. "Three vie for education board." ''Dayton Daily News''. October 31, 2002 *Mark Fisher. "Griffin back in state post". ''Dayton Daily News''. November 6, 2002. *Mark Fisher. "Griffin victory dismays leaders: History repeated in state school board election." ''The Dayton Daily News''. November 13, 2002. *Doug Page. "Politicians, useless rat very alike." ''Dayton Daily News''. November 21, 2002. *Mary McCarty. "To avoid a disaster, please vote." ''Dayton Daily News''. November 3, 2002. *Christine Vasconez and Benjamin Kline. "Familiar name reappears on ballot." ''Dayton Daily News''. October 29, 2002. 4B.

External links

Biography on Smart Voter web-site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, John W. 1927 births 2006 deaths University of Dayton alumni Farmers from Ohio People from Miamisburg, Ohio Ohio Democrats

See also

References

External links