Ohio Latino Affairs Commission
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: OCT. 2, 2015
Contact: Andrea Magaa Lewis, Public Policy Officer (614)
728-8364
State Rep. Dan Ramos now longest serving Latino state
officeholder in Ohio
history
Hits new record with over 4 years of elected service
COLUMBUS State Rep. and Ohio Latino Affairs Commission board
member Dan Ramos (D-Lorain) this year began serving his third term
as a state representative in Ohio, making him the longest
serving
Latino state officeholder in Ohio history, records indicate.
Ramos is also the first person of Puerto Rican
descent to serve in the Ohio House.
My heritage is something that is not only important to me and my
family, but to so many communities throughout our state, said Rep.
Ramos. I was somewhat surprised to find that the bar was so low,
but I feel honored and encouraged by the opportunity to better
reflect the increasing diversity of our state.
Ramos now surpasses the record held by the late Honorable John
Garcia, a Republican state
representative who served citizens of the greater Toledo area
for two terms. Garcia was the first person of
Latino heritage to serve in the Ohio House.
Rep. Ramos knows the issues affecting our community, and is
actively involved at all levels to improve the standing of Latinos
in Ohio, said Latino Affairs Commission Executive Director Lilleana
Cavanaugh. He is an excellent role model for Latino youth and we
wish him continued success.
The Honorable Keila Cosme briefly served as the first state
judge of Latino ancestry for about one year
after being appointed by Gov. Ted Strickland to fill the
remainder of the late Honorable William Skows term with the Ohio
Sixth District Court of Appeals. Judge Stephen A. Yarbrough
defeated Cosme in the
2010 election.
Concerning the record for longest serving local elected official
with Latino ancestry, Ramos said those
records are much more difficult to discern. Oddly enough, Ramos
suspects that record may be held by his
father, Raul Ramos, who served 16 years on the Lorain City
School Board.
According to the 2013 American Community Survey by the U.S.
Census Bureau, Ohios Hispanic population has grown by 76 percent
since 2000. The Hispanic population in Ohio ranks 23rd in the
nation, and currently there are 166,000 Hispanic eligible voters
in Ohio the 19th largest Hispanic eligible voter population
nationally.
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