Peter Ujvagi


Peter Sandor Ujvagi is a former Hungarian-born American Democratic state representative of Ohio state in the 47th District, who represents Toledo and Lucas County.

Life and career

His nickname is "Mayor of East Toledo". Matt Szollosi of the 49th District was another Hungarian representative in Ohio.
Ujvagi was born in Budapest, Hungary on 31 March 1949 as son of Ede and Magda Újvági. When he was 7 years old, he emigrated with his parents to the United States, after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. He has two brothers, Ed and Charles. After a short stay in an Austrian refugee camp, the family arrived in Toledo, Ohio. He was a member of the American delegation to the state funeral of Hungarian Prime Minister József Antall.
He is a founding member and executive committee member of the Hungarian-American Coalition. He is active in the Hungarian Club of Greater Toledo, the Birmingham Cultural Center, and he is on the Board of Directors for the Art Commission of Greater Toledo.

Ohio House of Representatives

After Teresa Fedor ran for the Ohio Senate in 2002, Ujvagi ran for the vacant seat in the Ohio House of Representatives, and won with 67.76% of the vote. He would win reelection in 2004 with 71.22%, again in 2006 with 73.85%, and in 2008 as an unopposed candidate.
While in the legislature, Ujvagi was very influential on budgetary issues, and for a time served as Chairman of the House Finance Committee's Transportation Subcommittee.
On 17 March 2010, Ujvagi resigned his seat in the Ohio House of Representatives to become the new Lucas County Administrator. He was succeeded by Joe Walter.