Mary Jo Kilroy Papers RG: 57/e Descriptive Finding Aid and Box and Folder Inventory Jeffrey W. Thomas 2015 Ohio Congressional Archives The Ohio State University 2700 Kenny Road Columbus, OH 43210 (614) 688-8429 Introduction The Mary Jo Kilroy Papers consist of 5.25 cubic feet of textual materials, 468 megabytes of documents in electronic format, and 23.1 gigabytes of digital audiovisual files. Dating from 2009 to 2010, the collection documents the activities and accomplishments of Mary Jo Kilroy (D - Columbus) as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for the 15th Ohio Congressional District. Congresswoman Kilroy served a single two-year term in office during the 111th Congress. Provenance: Mary Jo Kilroy donated the collection to The Ohio State University in June 2011. Access: The Mary Jo Kilroy Papers are open to public research under the rules and regulations of The Ohio State University Libraries. Researchers requesting to use records within the District Affairs Series must first sign a confidentiality agreement. Copyrights: Mary Jo Kilroy has dedicated such copyrights as she possesses in the Mary Jo Kilroy Papers to the public. Consideration of all other copyrights is the responsibility of the author and the publisher. Arrangement: The records within the Mary Jo Kilroy Papers are arranged within the following four series. 1. Legislative 2. Media Relations 3. District Affairs 4. Audiovisual Materials Processing Note: Jeffrey W. Thomas processed and arranged the Mary Jo Kilroy Papers in 2014-2015. A careful effort was made during the processing of the collection to preserve whenever possible the original order and filing systems found within each series. Many files, especially within series containing correspondence and legislative records, were maintained originally in oversized file folders. These large files were divided into smaller folders for preservation and descriptive purposes. Documents obtained in electronic format were sorted into appropriate folders by topic or type, reformatted into PDF files, and arranged into PDF portfolios for preservation and access purposes. Links providing online access to these portfolios are located in the box and folder inventory of the collection finding aid. Note to Researchers: Access to the online portfolios of electronic records located in the collection requires Adobe Reader - Version 9 or higher. To obtain the free software, click here: http://get.adobe.com/reader/ 1 Biographical Sketch Born in Euclid, Ohio on April 30, 1949, Mary Jo Kilroy grew up in Cleveland as a daughter of a pipe fitter. She worked her way through college, graduating from Cleveland State University in 1977 with a degree in political science. In 1980, she earned a J.D. from The Ohio State University College of Law. Following graduation she established the Columbus, Ohio law firm of Handelman and Kilroy with her husband, Robert Handelman. Kilroy entered her career in public service in 1991 by winning one of four open seats on the Board of the Columbus Public Schools contested by a field of eighteen candidates. Kilroy served two terms on the board, including a period as board president during her eighth and final year in office beginning on January 4, 1999. In January 2000, Kilroy became one of two Democratic Party candidates for the three member Franklin County Board of Commissioners. Her election victory in November made her the first Democratic commissioner on the board in eight years. She won re-election to the Board of Commissioners in 2004, and served as board president from 2005 to 2008. In 2006, Kilroy challenged Deborah Pryce, the Republican Party incumbent, in a campaign for the Ohio 15th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. In a close race that drew national attention, Pryce edged Kilroy by a margin of less than 1100 votes. Following Representative Pryce’s announcement in August 2007 that she would not seek reelection in 2008, Kilroy again ran as the Democratic nominee for the Ohio 15th District. In another closely watched campaign, Kilroy beat the Republican Party candidate, Steve Stivers, by slightly more than 2500 votes. In January 2009, Congresswoman Kilroy became the first Democrat to represent the 15th Ohio Congressional District in more than forty years. In the 111th Congress (2009-2010), Kilroy served on the House Committee on Financial Services and the House Committee on Homeland Security. As a member of the Financial Services Committee, and also as one of two freshman representatives on the Wall Street Reform Conference Committee, Kilroy introduced numerous amendments and provisions pertaining to consumer protections and small businesses that ultimately passed into law as part of H.R. 4173, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009 and H.R. 5297, the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. A member of the House Progressive Caucus, during her term in office Kilroy supported all major Democratic measures, including the federal stimulus package, cap and trade carbon emissions regulations, and legislation introduced to end gender discrimination in salaries. She was a strong advocate for health care reform and an early promoter of President Barack Obama’s legislative initiative passed on March 23, 2010 as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Congresswoman Kilroy again faced Steve Stivers as the Republican Party candidate during her reelection campaign in 2010. As a Democrat in an historically Republican district, during the campaign Kilroy met with an active backlash by voters against the policies of the Obama administration. She lost the election to Stivers by a margin of 30,000 votes. Kilroy again ran for office in 2012 during the Democratic primary for the newly configured 3rd Ohio District, but lost to Joyce Beatty, the eventual winner of the district seat in the November elections. 2 Mary Jo Kilroy Papers – RG: 57/e Scope and Content Notes Series 1: Legislative The Legislative Series contains one cubic foot of textual records and 330 megabytes of electronic records in PDF format arranged into 32 digital portfolios. The series contains folders of in- coming and out-going correspondence between Congresswoman Kilroy and officials in federal departments and agencies, congressional colleagues, Ohio and district officials, and the White House. Most of the correspondence pertains to district projects or various pending legislation, including financial services issues, foreign affairs, and health care policy. The series also contains folders on specific legislative bills dating from 2009 and 2010, such as H.R. 1826, the Fair Elections Now Act; H.R. 1207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act; H.R. 4173, the Restoring American Financial Stability Act; and H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Other folders contain correspondence from constituents and organizations in favor of health care reform. Also included are folders relating to the investigation into the collapse of the Lehman Brothers financial services company and the effect of the collapse on public pension funds in Ohio. The series also contains three digital portfolios of Lehman Brothers documents, dating from 2004 to 2010, compiled by Congresswoman Kilroy for use in hearings held by the House Financial Services Committee. Other digital portfolios contain emails and documents, dating from 2009 and 2010, submitted by Congresswoman Kilroy to the subcommittees of the House Appropriations Committee in regards to funding requests for various projects in the 15th Ohio Congressional District. One portfolio contains documents submitted for fiscal year 2010 projects. Funding requests for fiscal year 2011 projects are arranged by subcommittee. The series also contains digital portfolios of documents, dating 2009 and 2010, pertaining to the bills sponsored or co-sponsored by Congresswoman Kilroy during the 111th Congress. Series 2: Media Relations The Media Relations Series consists of one-eighth cubic foot of textual records and 29 megabytes of electronic records in PDF format arranged into seven digital portfolios. Dating from 2009 to 2010, the series contains some biographical information about Mary Jo Kilroy, along with both textual and digital files of newspaper clippings pertaining to her activities in Congress and the 15th Ohio Congressional District. The series also includes digital portfolios of the press releases and constituent newsletters produced by her office. Another digital portfolio contains eighty-six speeches and statements delivered by Congresswoman Kilroy at a particular event or issued for a particular policy topic, such as health care, jobs and the economy, human rights, and financial reform. Also included is a copy of Congresswoman Kilroy’s official website, as reproduced onto DVD on November 16, 2010. 3 Series 3: District Affairs Researchers requesting to use records within the District Affairs Series must first sign a confidentiality agreement. The District Affairs Series consists of four cubic feet of textual records and 109 megabytes of electronic records in PDF format arranged into eleven digital portfolios. The series contains records pertaining to Congresswoman Kilroy’s efforts to post humorously award the Congressional Medal of Honor to Captain Dominic “Don” S. Gentile, an ace fighter pilot from Ohio who shot down 22 enemy aircraft during World War II. Also included, in electronic format, are documents pertaining to environmental issues at the Hi-Q Egg Farm in Union County, Ohio. The series contains a small sampling of general constituent