Ben E. Espy is a Democratic politician who formerly served in the

Ohio 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 ...

. A member of

Columbus City Council The Columbus City Council is the lawmaking body of Columbus, Ohio. It has 7 members who are elected at-large. It meets in the City Council Chambers located on the second floor of Columbus City Hall. Starting in the 2023 election, City Council w ...

from 1982 to 1992, Espy went on to obtain an appointment to the

after Senator Richard Pfeiffer resigned in 1992. He won election to fill the remainder of the term in 1992, and to a full term in 1994. By 1994, Espy had been chosen to serve as assistant Senate minority leader, and by 1996, he was minority leader. He won a second term in 1998. In 1999, Espy challenged Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman in the Democratic primary for mayor, but lost. He subsequently resigned his minority leader post, and served the remainder of his term in the Senate as a lame duck.

Term limited A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potent ...

in 2002, he left office and was replaced by Ray Miller. Espy returned to private law practice, and also went on to serve as a special counsel to the

Ohio Attorney General The Ohio Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state, State of Ohio in the United States. The office is filled by general election, held every four years. The Ohio Attorney General is Republican Dave Yost. History The office ...

Marc Dann Marc Dann (born March 12, 1962) is an American former politician of the Democratic Party, who served as the Attorney General of Ohio from 2007 until his resignation on May 14, 2008. Law career and state Senate Dann earned a B.A. in 1984 from t ...

. He continues to reside in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. He is also a

Prince Hall Freemason Prince Hall Freemasonry is a branch of North American Freemasonry for African Americans founded by Prince Hall on September 29, 1784. There are two main branches of Prince Hall Freemasonry: the independent State Prince Hall Grand Lodges, most of ...

See also

References

Further reading