Richard Frank Celeste

Early political career

Celeste was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives from Cuyahoga County in 1970. His Ohio House District included western Cleveland and Lakewood, where he grew up and his father had served as mayor. During his time as a legislator he focused on constituent services and built his public profile.^[5]

Celeste was subsequently elected the 55th lieutenant governor of Ohio in 1974, defeating Republican John William Brown and serving under incumbent Republican Jim Rhodes. At the time, Ohio's lieutenant governor was elected separately from the governor, so the victors could be of different parties. Rhodes reportedly told Celeste to take up golfing because he was "not going to give [Celeste] a damn thing to do".^[5] Celeste challenged Rhodes for governor in the 1978 Ohio gubernatorial election, but lost.^[6] President Jimmy Carter subsequently appointed Celeste as director of the Peace Corps from 1979 to 1981, where he was responsible for programs in 53 countries.

Governor of Ohio (1983–1991)

In the 1982 Ohio gubernatorial election, Celeste defeated Attorney General William J. Brown and former Cincinnati Mayor Jerry Springer in the Democratic primary,^[7] and then the Republican candidate Clarence J. "Bud" Brown Jr. to become governor of Ohio. Celeste was re-elected in the 1986 Ohio gubernatorial election, defeating Republican candidate and former governor Jim Rhodes. In 1988, he served as the Chairman of the Midwestern Governors Association.

As governor, Celeste increased support for human services, mental health & addiction recovery services, funding for education and children services including providing onsite daycare for state employees. Before the Celeste era, Ohio ranked near the bottom among states in funding for these programs. Celeste and the Democratic-controlled legislature increased the state income tax by approximately 40% while also retaining a temporary tax of 50% instituted by the Republican predecessors. Celeste is noted for opening many government positions to African Americans and women—he hired more women to cabinet positions than all previous governors combined. Celeste also allowed state employee unions to negotiate wages and benefits, rather than just working conditions.

At the end of his last term, Celeste ordered the release of 25 women, including 10 convicted murderers, on the ground that they had committed their crimes under battered woman syndrome.^[8] He also commuted the sentences of 8 Ohio death row inmates to life terms. Among them was Debra Brown's along with the sentences of most alleged battered women serving sentences at Marysville state prison for murdering their alleged aggressors. He also commuted Donald Lee Maurer to life in prison. Maurer had been convicted of raping and killing his 8 year old Massillon neighbor Dawn Marie Hendershot in the early 1980s.^[9]

Under the Celestes, the Governor's art exhibits, chamber music concerts and First Lady's spiritual retreats and theology gatherings as well as Christmas and Hanukkah parties for neighborhood kids became regular seasonal events. The Residence Gardens, especially the rose garden, one of the oldest in the nation, were reconstituted and The Friends of the Residence were formed, with Les Wexner as their first president, to help raise private funds to defray the cost of those improvements.^[10]

Ambassador to India (1997–2001)

Celeste then established the consulting firm Celeste and Sabety Ltd. in Columbus, Ohio. After he served as the director of the Democratic National Committee's healthcare campaign in 1993, President Bill Clinton appointed him as United States Ambassador to India, a position he served in from 1997 to 2001.

President of Colorado College (2002–2011)

Celeste was inaugurated as the 12th president of Colorado College in 2002. During his tenure as president, Celeste raised $200 million for such things as capital improvements and scholarships to help disadvantaged and minority students. His other accomplishments included the addition of 20 tenure-track faculty positions, a large increase in the size of the student applicant pool, from 3,533 in 2003 to 4,455 in 2010, and an increase in selectivity, with 55.9 percent of applicants accepted in 2003 to 33.3 percent accepted in 2010.^[11] Celeste oversaw major renovations of campus buildings, including Palmer Hall, Cossitt Hall and Packard Hall; construction of the interdisciplinary Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center.^[11]

In 2004, a Jewish group called for Celeste's resignation after he invited a high-profile Palestinian to give a lecture.^[11] He was the president of the Colorado Springs Downtown Partnership, the Colorado Economics Future Panel, the NCAA Presidential Task Force on the Future of Intercollegiate Athletics, and the Colorado Forum, which tackles public policy issues.^[11] Celeste retired as president of Colorado College on June 30, 2011, and was succeeded by Jill Tiefenthaler.^[12]

Other activities

Celeste is a member of the advisory board of the Roosevelt Institution, a student think tank. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Celeste, along with Thomas Kean who co-chaired the 9/11 Commission, co-chairs the Homeland Security Project for The Century Foundation. He also sits on the board of the Independent Strategic Assessment Group, United States Northern Command (NORTHCOM), which is the military command over the USA established in the wake of the attacks of September 11. Celeste joined the board of Directors of Glimcher Realty Trust in September 2007.^[13] Celeste has also been a member of the CHF International Board of Trustees since January 2012.^[14]

He is currently on the board of directors for Battelle for Kids,^[15] a not-for-profit organization dedicated to moving education forward for students by supporting the educators who work with them every day.^[16]

In 2020, Celeste, with another former governor Bob Taft were appointed to establish and lead a task force to help expand COVID-19 testing in Ohio during the pandemic.^[17]