VOINOVICH, GEORGE - The Encyclopedia of Cleveland HistoryVOINOVICH, GEORGE V.
(15 July 1936-12 June 2016), mayor of Cleveland, Ohio governor, and U.S.
Senator, was born in Cleveland, OH to George S. and Josephine Bernot
Voinovich. Of Croation-Serb and Slovenian decent,
Voinovich?s parents settled in the Collinwood neighborhood of
Cleveland. After graduating from Collinwood High School in 1954, Voinovich
earned his B.A. in government from Ohio University in 1958 and received his law
degree from Ohio State University in 1961.
A career politician, Voinovich was inaugurated
into Ohio politics as Assistant Attorney General in 1963. From 1971 to 1976 he served as County Auditor
of Cuyahoga County and from 1977 to 1978 served as a member of the Cuyahoga County Board of
Commissioners. He was elected Lieutenant Governor on the James A. Rhodes Republican
ticket in 1978. As Mayor of Cleveland, Voinovich continued to
garner accolades. He won a tough mayoral race against incumbent Dennis Kucinich
in 1979 and stepped down from his lieutenant governor position. During the MAYORAL ADMINISTRATION OF GEORGE
V. VOINOVICH, he began with the city in default on $110 million of its
financial obligations. Voinovich balanced the city budget, allowing the city to
escape from default and reorganized the city's administration. After his completing his second term as mayor,
Voinovich returned to statewide politics. Voinovich ran for the U.S. Senate in
1988 but lost to longtime incumbent Howard Metzenbaum. However, he was elected Ohio governor in 1990
for two terms. During his tenure as mayor and governor, Voinovich was a key
figure in bringing the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame and, Museum to Cleveland. He was also credited as a key leadership
figure in the creation of the student school voucher program, which allowed
public funds to be used for church-affiliated schools. In 1998, Voinovich was
elected to the U.S. senate, where he served until his retirement from politics
in 2010. Throughout his 44 years in public service,
Voinovich gained a reputation for his bi-partisan leadership. The oldest of six
children, Voinovich was a devout Catholic and life-long member of Our Lady of the Lake in
Collinwood. Voinovich married his wife
Janet Allan in 1962 and together they had four children named George, Betsy,
Peter and Molly (who was killed in a traffic accident in at age 9). Voinovich died in 2016 and was buried in All
Souls Cemetery in Chardon, OH.
This site maintained by Case Western Reserve University
|