Michael Stinziano is a Columbus Democrat who serves as the Franklin County Auditor. He took office on March 11, 2019 after winning the election in November 2018. Stinziano was president pro tem of the Columbus City Council, serving the entire City of Columbus from 2016-2018. Before that, Stinziano previously served in the Ohio House of Representatives representing Ohio's 18th District from 2013-2016 and, before redistricting in the 2012 election, served as the representative for Ohio's 25th district from 2011-2013.
Early life and education
Michael Stinziano was born November 23, 1979, at Mount Carmel West Hospital in Franklinton and grew up on King Avenue in the Short North and University District communities. He developed a strong understanding of public service from his father, Mike Stinziano, who served 22 years in the Ohio General Assembly. Following his graduation from high school in Columbus, Stinziano earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Richmond and master's degree in public administration from George Washington University. After returning to Columbus, Michael graduated from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and became an attorney. Stinziano served as State Representative for the 18th house district, representing Columbus communities of Bexley, Franklinton, German Village, Grandview Heights, the Hilltop, Olde Towne East, Ohio State University and Italian Village. His prior experience includes work as the Director of the Franklin County Board of Elections; as an assistant to the general counsel for Ohio Secretary of StateJennifer Brunner; as a law clerk for the Ohio House Democratic Caucus; as a legal extern for the Supreme Court of Ohio; as a research assistant for two members of the British Parliament; and as a congressional intern in Washington. Michael and his wife Caroline McNamee Stinziano, son Cooper, and daughter Riley live in University Community/ Short North with their two rescue pugs, Wrigley and Fenway, and belong to St. Francis of Assisi Parish. Stinziano is a member of the Ohio Commodores, the Columbus Italian Club, the Shamrock Club of Columbus, the Hilltop Kiwanis, the Short North Civic Association, Sigma Chi Fraternity, a graduate of the Columbus Civilian Police Academy, an Executive Committee Member of the Franklin County Democratic Party and a Certified Tourism Ambassador for the City of Columbus.
With incumbent Representative Dan Stewart unable to seek another term due to term limits, Stinziano, whose father, Mike Stinziano had held the same seat for two decades, entered the race. Stinziano faced a primary challenge in John Sowers, a local business owner, but won by about 3,200 votes. Originally, Stinziano was going to face Republican Scott Hubbard in the general election, however, Hubbard dropped out, leaving Stinziano with a clear path to the Statehouse. On January 3, 2011, Stinziano was sworn into his first term. Stinziano won a second term in 2012 over Republican Bill Colgan with 73.39% of the electorate, and a third in 2014 with 74% of the vote. In November 2018 election for Franklin County Auditor, he successfully ousted Clarence Mingo, a Republican.
Sponsored legislation and policy positions
Some of his accomplishments as Franklin County Auditor include: In June 2019, Stinziano implemented a six-week paid parental and caregiver leave policy. Stinziano streamlined the process for farmers impacted by inclement weather to still receive their tax breaks under the Current Agricultural Use Value program. Tax breaks were also distributed to residents and businesses that suffered property value reductions due to inclement weather. Stinziano developed a Real Estate Sales Dashboard that shows recent home sales on a GIS map. The Dashboard can show the month's total sales amount, median sales price, and number of sales by municipality, school district, or area commission. In May 2019, Stinziano inspected the gas pumps in Franklin County to ensure there were no credit card skimming devices, no such devices were found. The deadline to license a dog in Franklin County was extended to March 31, giving residents more time and flexibility to license their dogs. He created an electronic version of the real estate title form DTE 100 and made the Auditor's Office website available in multiple languages to make the services provided by the office more accessible. As a state representative he piloted several pieces of legislation stemming directly from constituent ideas presented at his weekly community hours. When a constituent shared the news of a student-athlete who ended up in a wheelchair after returning to play too soon after suffering a concussion, Stinziano sponsored legislation to prevent sports-related head injuries along with Representative Sean O'Brien. House Bill 143 established return-to-play standards after an athlete exhibits signs and symptoms of a concussion and has been recognized as national model legislation among the more than 25 other states that have adopted similar laws to help protect our young athletes from serious injury with a return-to-play law. Other ideas suggested by constituents that are now Ohio law include: HB 117 Operation of Captive Insurance Companies in Ohio; HB 126 Living Will Changes; HB 170 Naloxone; HB 265 Accessible Language in ORC and Signage; HB 365 Tax Overpayment Notification; HB 344 Create Ohio Statehouse License Plate; and HB 448 Infant Mortality Education & Prevention. Stemming from his background in election law and as the Director of the Board of Elections, Stinziano is a vocal advocate for participation in the electoral process. Stinziano has supported a statewide process for dealing with and counting provisional ballots during elections, and sponsored legislation to create online voter registration for Ohioans.
