Maryellen O'Shaughnessy is an American Democratic politician from

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

, and current the Franklin County Clerk of Courts. O'Shaughnessy is serving in her fourth consecutive term.

Background

O'Shaughnessy is a fifth-generation Central Ohioan. She graduated from Bishop Watterson High School and received a B.A. from The

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

in Journalism. O'Shaughnessy is a fourth-generation funeral director and owner of the O'Shaughnessy Company Funeral Directors, established in 1889. O'Shaughnessy's first campaign for office was in 1992 when she was the Democratic nominee for Franklin County Commissioner. She received 42% of the vote to Republican Dorothy Teater's 58

In 1997, O'Shaughnessy was elected to her first of 3 terms on Columbus City Council. While on Council she was an advocate for transportation, sustainability and the arts. O'Shaughnessy was the top vote getter in the 2001 and 2005 Council elections. In 2000, O'Shaughnessy lost to Pat Tiberi when she ran for

Ohio's 12th congressional district Ohio's 12th congressional district is a United States List of United States congressional districts, congressional district in central Ohio, covering Athens County, Ohio, Athens County, Coshocton County, Ohio, Coshocton County, Fairfield County ...

. In 2002, O'Shaughnessy unsuccessfully ran for Franklin County Commissioner a 2nd time. She received 49% to the incumbent Republican Dewey Stokes' 51%. In 2008, O'Shaughnessy ran for and was elected Clerk of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. She was unopposed in her 2012 election, and received 67% of the vote in both her 2016 and 2020 re-election campaigns. In 2010, O'Shaughnessy was the Democratic Party nominee for

Ohio Secretary of State The secretary of state of Ohio is an elected statewide official in the state of Ohio. The Secretary of state (U.S. state government), secretary of state is responsible for overseeing elections in the state; registering business entities (corp ...

. She was opposed by Republican Jon A. Husted, then a member of the

Ohio State Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such t ...

, and previously Speaker of the Ohio House, and

Libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

Charles Earl. Husted won election with 53.7% to O'Shaughnessy's 41.5% and Earl's 4.8%. During her tenure as clerk of courts, her leadership has led to the office processing more than half-a-million vehicle titles a year – the most in Ohio – and has sent more than $7 million in auto-title funds to the county’s general fund. In the course of the 2020 budget process, O'Shaughnessy was able to return an additional $3 million in surplus funds to the county's general fund, bringing her office's total to more than $10 million during her tenure as Franklin County Clerk of Courts. The $3 million returned from 2019 will drive the modernization of the county court's computer systems.

Personal

O'Shaughnessy lives in

. She is a member of the O'Shaughnessy political family, and is the daughter of former Ohio State Senator

Robert O'Shaughnessy Robert Emmet O'Shaughnessy, Sr. (February 23, 1918 – February 16, 1991) was an American Democratic politician, member of the Ohio Senate, and Funeral Director. A member of a political family, O'Shaughnessy was initially appointed to the Sena ...

. O'Shaughnessy is a member of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, she has received the Diocesan Service Award. She has served or currently is on the boards of the Columbus Historical Society and the Greenways Working Group of the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission.

Notes

References

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External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:OShaughnessy, Maryellen Ohio Democrats American funeral directors Ohio State University School of Communication alumni Columbus City Council members Candidates in the 2000 United States elections Candidates in the 2010 United States elections Living people Women city councillors in Ohio 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American women politicians Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Ohio politicians