Matthew A. "Matt" Szollosi (; born June 4, 1972) is a former Democratic member of the

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. The House of Representatives first met in ...

, representing Toledo and Lucas County. As of 2022, he is executive director of Affiliated Construction Trades Ohio, an organization which represents the state's building trades.

Career

Szollosi was born in Toledo on June 4, 1972. His parents, Francis M. and Emma J. Szollosi (née Oravecz), have Hungarian roots. He received both his

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

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 ...

. His wife is Melanie L. Szollosi (née Czubek), they have a daughter, Audrey Mae. His grandfather, Fritz Szollosi served as a postmaster and as a Lucas County Commissioner, his other grandfather, John Babarcsik, who also had Hungarian roots, had worked at the Powertrain facility for close to thirty years. His brother, Francis J. Szollosi, has been elected twice to serve on the Toledo City Council, and sits on the State Democratic Party Executive Committee. Szollosi was a four-time city councilman in

Oregon, Ohio Oregon is a city in Lucas County, Ohio. It is a lakefront suburb of Toledo, located on Lake Erie, just east of the city. Oregon is known for its scenic lakefront, bike trails, and Maumee Bay State Park. The population was 19,950 at the 20 ...

and is a partner with downtown Toledo lawfirm Cosme, D'Angelo & Szollosi Co., L.P.A.

Ohio House of Representatives

With incumbent

Jeanine Perry Jeanine Perry is a former member of Toledo City Council and the Ohio House of Representatives, succeeded by Matt Szollosi Matthew A. "Matt" Szollosi (; born June 4, 1972) is a former Democratic member of the Ohio House of Representatives, repr ...

unable to run for reelection due to term limits, Szollosi entered the race to replace her. Facing Republican Steve Hornyak in the general election, he won by 14,000 votes. Early in his first term, Szollosi was already being mentioned as a contender for

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 ...

if Democrats were to win majority, as he proved to be a formidable fundraiser. Later on in the 2008 cycle, 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 ...

endorsed the leadership team of Szollosi and

Armond Budish Armond D. Budish ( ; b. Cleveland, Ohio, United States, 1953) is an American politician currently serving in his second term as Cuyahoga County Executive. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a four-term Ohio State Representative (8th dist ...

to lead the next assembly's Democratic caucus. In his 2008 reelection campaign, Szollosi won against Jeff Wingate by 21,000 votes. Subsequently House Democrats regained the majority, and due to his fundraising prowess, Szollosi was named

Speaker pro tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

behind

. In 2010, Szollosi again won an easy election against Republican Jeff Wingate by 11,000 votes. However, this time Republicans won the majority, and Szollosi served as assistant minority leader for the 129th General Assembly. He also served on the committees of Public Utilities, Rules and Reference, Commerce and Labor, Judiciary and Ethics, and as a member of the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee. In 2012, Szollosi faced the toughest race of his career as a state representative ultimately winning by the narrowest margin of any of his previous races for state representative against Republican Dave Kissinger. Szollosi still received 65% of the vote. But only a few months into his two-year term, Szollosi announced he was resigning to take a job that required him to move from the Toledo area to

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

.Toledo Blad

(2013-04-11)

References

External links

Matt Szollosi for State Representative
''campaign site'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Szollosi, Matt Members of the Ohio House of Representatives American people of Hungarian descent Living people 1972 births Politicians from Toledo, Ohio University of Toledo College of Law alumni Ohio city council members Hungarian-American culture in Ohio 21st-century American politicians Lawyers from Toledo, Ohio People from Oregon, Ohio