Throughout his tenure in the General Assembly, State Senator Jimmy Stewart has put a strong emphasis on constituent service, working to respond to hundreds of letters, phone calls and emails each week and help the residents of Southeast Ohio navigate state government services. He also travels his district often to attend local events and knock on doors to talk face-to-face with families, business owners, workers, teachers, local government leaders and many others about state and local issues. In fact, his 1995 Geo Prizm recently surpassed 465,000 miles and still runs on its original engine. Jimmy uses this important feedback from constituents to help guide his policy decisions in Columbus and address concerns in the region.

After serving three terms as the State Representative for the 92nd Ohio House District, Senator Stewart was elected in 2008 to represent the 20th Senate District, which stretches from Coshocton to Pomeroy and across 9 counties, including Athens, Coshocton, Guernsey, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble and Washington.

Jimmy currently serves as a member of the influential Senate Finance and Financial Institutions Committee, which helps write the state operating budget every two years. He was also chosen to fill a key leadership role on two other committees as vice chairman of the State and Local Government and Veterans Affairs Committee and the Environment and Natural Resources Committee. In addition, he was appointed to sit on the Health, Human Services and Aging Committee

Furthermore, Senator Stewart has an important voice in the policy discussion about the future of energy production in Ohio and its impact on the accessibility, affordability and reliability of electricity service for Ohio consumers. Earlier this year, he was appointed to serve on the Ohio Coal Development Office’s Technical Advisory Committee, which reviews and makes recommendations about funding clean coal research and development projects across the state. In addition, he was chosen as a member of the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee.

During his time in public service, Jimmy has championed efforts to bring economic development and jobs to Southeast Ohio, improve educational opportunities for local residents, strengthen the region’s infrastructure, including expanding broadband service, and make the area a better place to live, work and raise a family. Most recently, he won bipartisan support for legislation to remove the term “mental retardation” from the name of county and state agencies in Ohio, after being approached about the issue by a constituent from the Athens County Board of Developmental Disabilities.

Senator Stewart has received several awards for his work in Columbus. In 2007, he was named Legislator of the Year by the County Boards of MRDD and the National Alliance on Mental Illness-Ohio. He also received the Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities' Legislative Excellence Award and was recognized as a “Voice for Ohio’s Children” for his work to improve the health, safety and stability of Ohio children and their families. In addition, earlier this year, he was honored as Legislator of the Year by the League of Ohio Sportsmen and the Ohio Wildlife Federation.

A native of Appalachia, Jimmy obtained a bachelor’s degree in economics from Marshall University and earned a master’s degree in business administration from Xavier University. Before coming to the Legislature, he sold Caterpillar equipment in Southeast Ohio. He also served on the Athens City Council and was elected Athens City Auditor.

The Ohio Statehouse

Columbus, Ohio 43215

Phone: (614) 466-8076

SD20@senate.state.oh.us