Margaret A. Mahoney (July 12, 1893 – March 27, 1981) was an American Democratic politician from

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 ...

. She held a number of political positions and served in the state's

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

and

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and was the first Democratic woman elected to the Ohio Senate and the first woman majority leader of the chamber. Mahoney was inducted into the

Ohio Women's Hall of Fame The Ohio Women's Hall of Fame was a program the State of Ohio's Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Department of Job and Family Services ran from 1978 through 2011. The Hall has over 400 members. In 2019, the Hall's physical archives a ...

in 1978.

Biography

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Mahoney attended evening classes at Cleveland's West High School of Commerce to graduate from high school. She graduated from John Marshall School of Law after working as a salesperson and a secretary. Mahoney was the legislative chair for a number of women's organizations, which led her to become interested in running for the state legislature. She was first elected to political office in 1938 as a 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 ...

. Mahoney served in both chambers of the Ohio state legislature, and became the first Democratic woman elected to 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 ...

in 1942. She was from 1949 to 1950 the Senate President

Pro Tem ''Pro tempore'' (), abbreviated ''pro tem'' or ''p.t.'', is a Latin phrase which best translates to "for the time being" in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a ''locum tenens'' (placeholder) in the absence of ...

and

Majority Leader In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.

, and was the first woman to hold that role. She also served on a number of committees including the Senate Rules Committee. In March 1951, Mahoney was appointed Chief of the State Securities Division upon leaving the Senate. She held numerous political offices, often being the first woman to hold the position, including Director of the Department of Industrial Relations of Ohio from 1953 to 1957; and was a member of the Cleveland Civil Service Commission and the Director of the Department of Industrial Relations. She was a

Presidential Elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...

and 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 ...

multiple times, and was the only woman on the Ohio State Council of Defense during

World War II 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 ...

. As of 2019, Mahoney is still the only woman to hold the top leadership position in the Ohio Senate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahoney, Margaret A. 1893 births 1981 deaths Democratic Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives People from Cleveland Heights, Ohio 20th-century American women politicians Women state legislators in Ohio Democratic Party Ohio state senators Presidents of the Ohio Senate 20th-century American legislators Politicians from Cleveland 20th-century Ohio politicians