Rick Carfagna
{{Short description|American politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Rick Carfagna
|birth_place = Columbus, Ohio
|state_house = Ohio
|district = 68th
|term_start = January 3, 2017
|term_end = January 25, 2022
|predecessor = Margaret Ruhl
|successor = Shawn Stevens
|birth_date =
|party = Republican
|spouse = Jill
|children = 1
|education = John Carroll University (BA)
|residence = Westerville, Ohio, U.S.
}}
Rick Carfagna is an American politician who served as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives for the 68th district from 2017 to 2022. A Republican, he was previously a public relations manager in the telecommunications industry.{{Cite web|last=Brodkin|first=Jon|date=2021-06-17|title=Ohio Republicans close to imposing near-total ban on municipal broadband|url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/06/ohio-republicans-close-to-imposing-near-total-ban-on-municipal-broadband/|access-date=2021-06-18|website=Ars Technica|language=en-us}}
Early life and education
Carfagna was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, where his family owns and operates a local Italian grocery, restaurant and food distributor, Carfagna’s. He graduated from St. Francis DeSales High School before attending John Carroll University.
Career
Following graduation, Carfagna served on the Ohio Legislative Service Commission’s Fellowship Program and later worked as a legislative aide in the Ohio House of Representatives. He then worked as the government relations manager for Time Warner Cable from 2002 to 2017.
In 2009, Carfagna was elected to the Genoa Township Board of Trustees and was re-elected in 2013. He served as the board's president for three terms and became known as a fiscal conservative.
{{cite web
| title = Ohio communities' group deals for utilities not always a bargain - The Columbus Dispatch
| url = http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/02/29/local-governments-group-deals-for-utilities-not-always-a-bargain.html
| access-date = 2017-01-03
}}
= Ohio House of Representatives =
In 2016 four-term incumbent Ohio state representative Margaret Ruhl was term-limited. With the seat heavily-Republican, the primary election attracted a number of candidates. In a five-way primary, Carfagna's family name recognition made him an early favorite.
{{cite web
| title = Some Ohio legislators facing primary battles - The Columbus Dispatch
| url = http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/01/25/1-a-look-at-the-legislative-primaries-coming-in-march.html
| access-date = 2017-01-03
}}
His closest adversary was said to be Beth Lear, another former legislative staffer.
{{cite web
| title = Ohio Politics Now: What happens if John Kasich does well in New Hampshire? - The Columbus Dispatch
| url = http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/01/25/ohio-politics-now-what-happens-if-kasich-does-well-in-new-hampshire.html
| access-date = 2017-01-03
}}
Carfagna won the primary, taking a plurality of nearly 43% of the vote, with Lear taking 34%.
{{cite web
| title = Here's what happened in Tuesday's Knox County Primary — Mount Vernon News – Mount Vernon, Ohio
| url = http://mountvernonnews.com/story/2016/03/16/heres-what-happened-in-tuesdays-knox-county-primary/
| access-date = 2017-01-03
}}
In the general election, facing Democrat John Russell and write-in candidate Douglas Crowl,
{{cite web
| title = News sponsors political debates — Mount Vernon News – Mount Vernon, Ohio
| url = http://mountvernonnews.com/story/2016/09/24/news-sponsors-political-debates/
| access-date = 2017-01-03
}}
Carfagna won with 65.97% of the votes.
{{cite web
| title = Carfagna to serve in Ohio House — Mount Vernon News – Mount Vernon, Ohio
| url = http://mountvernonnews.com/story/2016/11/09/carfagna-to-serve-in-ohio-house/
| access-date = 2017-01-03
}}
In the Ohio legislature, Carfagna had been heavily involved in broadband policy. In January 2022, Carfagna resigned from the House to take a lobbying position with the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.{{Cite web |last=Staver |first=Anna |title=Rep. Rick Carfagna, a Delaware County Republican, is resigning for job with Ohio Chamber |url=https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2022/01/25/ohio-state-rep-rick-carfagna-leaving-legislature-lobbying-job/9211867002/ |access-date=2022-04-26 |website=The Columbus Dispatch |language=en-US}}
Personal life
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.ohiohouse.gov/rick-carfagna Ohio State Representative Rick Carfagna] official site
{{Members of the Ohio House of Representatives}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carfagna, Rick}}
Category:John Carroll University alumni
Category:Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives
Category:21st-century members of the Ohio General Assembly