Vernal G. Riffe Jr. (June 26, 1925 – July 31, 1997) was an American politician of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. Riffe served for many years in 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 ...

and was the longest serving speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives in the history of that institution, holding that office for 20 years.

Life and political career

Riffe, a moderate Democrat, was a strong Speaker, even bringing

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 ...

members of the House under his sway by threatening to fund the campaigns of their Democratic opponents for re-election. Riffe, who hailed from the impoverished

Appalachian Region Appalachian may refer to: * Appalachian Mountains, a major mountain range in eastern United States and Canada * Appalachian Trail, a hiking trail in the eastern United States * The people of Appalachia and their culture ** Appalachian Americans, e ...

of southeastern

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 ...

, fought hard to bring money for development to his corner of the state. Riffe's efforts resulted in the creation of

Shawnee State University Shawnee State University (SSU) is a public university in Portsmouth, Ohio. Established in 1986, Shawnee State is an open admissions university. It is the southernmost member of the University System of Ohio. History Although its roots date ba ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, sometimes referred to as "Vern Riffe U." He also brought funding to southern Ohio for the building of a major highway, Ohio 32, disparaged as the "Highway to Nowhere," which starts in the countryside near

Athens, Ohio Athens is a city and the county seat of Athens County, Ohio. The population was 23,849 at the 2020 census. Located along the Hocking River within Appalachian Ohio about southeast of Columbus, Athens is best known as the home of Ohio Universit ...

, in the east and winds its way westward across

Southern Ohio Appalachian Ohio is a bioregion and political unit in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio, characterized by the western foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and the Appalachian Plateau. The Appalachian Regional Commission defines ...

, finally ending in rural Clermont County east of

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. At the time of its construction it traversed no major population centers, stopping short of both Cincinnati and Athens. Today, it is referred to as the Appalachian Highway or the James A. Rhodes Appalachian Highway. Riffe has been honored by several state agencies in Ohio. The Vernal Riffe Chair, a professorship in government at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

is named after him. Ohio State's Department of Biochemistry is housed in the Vernal G. Riffe Building. The

Vern Riffe Center for Government and the Arts The Vern Riffe State Office Tower is a skyscraper on Capitol Square in downtown Columbus, Ohio. It was completed in 1988 and has 32 floors. NBBJ designed the building, which is the fifth-tallest in Columbus, and has 102,192 m² of floor area. A ...

, located across High Street from the

Ohio Statehouse The Ohio Statehouse is the state capitol building and seat of government for the U.S. state of Ohio. The Greek Revival building is located on Capitol Square in Downtown Columbus. The capitol houses the Ohio General Assembly, consisting of the H ...

in Downtown Columbus, provides office space for the

Governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, members of the

and many state agencies. The Vern Riffe Center for the Arts in Portsmouth is located at Shawnee State University. Riffe served as a member of the Ohio House for 36 years, from 1959 to 1995 and served as speaker from 1975 until 1994. Because of his power to raise funds, Riffe's departure from the political scene was a major financial blow to 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 ...

. Riffe's wife, Thelma L Riffe, is also deceased (August 4, 2010). Both are buried at Memorial Burial Park in

Wheelersburg, Ohio Wheelersburg is a census-designated place (CDP) in Scioto County, Ohio, United States. It lies along the northern banks of the Ohio River in southern Ohio. Wheelersburg is approximately east of Portsmouth and west of Ironton. It is in Porte ...

Buildings named after

The Vern Riffe Center for the Arts located on the Campus of Shawnee State, The Vern Riffe School located in Portsmouth, Ohio, and

in Columbus, Ohio.

Autobiography

An autobiographical book, ''Whatever's Fair'', co-written by Cliff Treyens, a former ''

Columbus Dispatch ''The Columbus Dispatch'' is a daily newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio. Its first issue was published on July 1, 1871, and it has been the only mainstream daily newspaper in the city since ''The Columbus Citizen-Journal'' ceased publication in 1 ...

'' writer, was published in the spring of 2007 celebrating the life and career of Riffe. A gathering of family, friends, and former political colleagues was held the day before Riffe's birthday at the Portsmouth Welcome Center to introduce the book.

References

External links

Ohio Historical Society

Shawnee State University

Official Site of the Ohio Government
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riffe, Vern 1925 births 1997 deaths Speakers of the Ohio House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives Ohio State University faculty People from Portsmouth, Ohio Shawnee State University 20th-century American politicians People from New Boston, Ohio