Ohio’s National Statuary
Collection Study Committee was
appointed and tasked with finding a suitable replacement for
Governor William Allen’s statue. The nonpartisan committee was made up of
three Senators and three Representatives.
“The Study
Committee shall study and review the lives of citizens of this
state who positively represent Ohio based on their talents,
character, and contributions.
Not later than one year after the effective date of this
act, the Study Committee shall prepare and submit a report to
the General Assembly of its recommendation of an individual who
should replace Governor William Allen as one of Ohio’s
representatives in the National Statuary Collection in the
United States Capitol.”
S.B. 277, effective date 3/30/07
The Study
Committee made visits to numerous sites in the summer of 2009. They received written
and oral testimony at January 2010 hearings in the State
Capitol. After
several site visits, public hearings, and much deliberation, the
Committee narrowed the field from more than 90 to 10 great
Ohioans.
On Tuesday,
February 23, 2010 the six members of the Study Committee ranked
their choices in preference from 1 to 10. Thomas Edison ranked
number 1 in the final calculation.
At this time
the Study Committee could have made their recommendation to the
General Assembly, but they decided to seek the opinions of all
Ohioans about who should represent our state in Statuary Hall. A partnership was
established with the Ohio Historical Society, Cincinnati Museum
Center, Western Reserve Historical Society, and the Capitol
Review and Advisory Board to provide “polling locations” to
cover every region of the state.
“You may have
to be 18 to vote in an election, but this is a process open to
every Ohio resident with an interest in our shared history,”
Senator Mark Wagoner (R-Ottawa Hills), who chairs the Statuary
Committee, said. “I
have learned so much about the contributions of great men and
women from Ohio through my work on the Statuary Committee and it
is my hope that through this process more Ohioans, and
especially our schoolchildren, will get out to our outstanding
historical sites and ‘do their homework’ to learn more about the
people who have shaped our history. Their interest and participation will
guarantee that we ultimately pick the right person.”
Vice Chairman,
Representative Tom Letson, echoed the decision for public input. “I am glad that we
are opening up this debate to the public,” Rep. Letson said. “The person chosen
will represent all Ohioans at the U.S. Capitol, and therefore it
is only fair that every Ohioan has the chance to weigh in on the
decision. I have
had the honor of speaking with many citizens who are passionate
about our state’s colorful history and I am grateful to be able
to give them a chance to have their voices heard by a larger
audience.”
An unbelievable
amount of professional work went into the preparation for
Ohioans to vote their choices from the ten nominees approved by
the Study Committee. An
educational brochure and voting material package was distributed
to 36 different voting locations across Ohio. Materials were also
made available to the general public and the media. All information was
available in hard print copy as well as on the official web site
www.legacyforohio.org. Media coverage of the
statuary vote was extensive throughout Ohio.
A very
comprehensive curriculum booklet with lesson plans for Ohio
teachers covered the 10 nominees.
This material allowed Ohio schools to participate in
learning about all ten of these great Ohioans. Even podcasts were
prepared to further the information available to students and
the public via the computer.
During the
official voting timeline, all ten candidates were represented in
Columbus at the Ohio Historical Society. This was yet another
opportunity to exhibit the greatness of all the nominees. It was also another
great chance for families from all across the state to
participate in this free educational event and vote for their
choice. Again,
media coverage was extensive.
Not only were
all the museum partners doing their special events, but the
Statuary Study Committee members were all very involved as they
scheduled their own “town meetings” or various press conferences
to further educate and inform the public about the Statuary
process and voting procedures.
The entire voting process was very exciting all over the
state and certainly a lot of Ohio history was uncovered and
reviewed.
Before and
during the voting process, the Statuary Study Committee was very
clear in emphasizing the vote of the people will be the single,
greatest factor in determining the final selection of Ohio’s
representative in Statuary Hall.
Considering this, after the votes were tallied, many if
not most Ohioans, including the media, had Edison already in the
Capitol. But not
so; back to the committee.
Todd Kleismit,
Director of Government Relations for the Ohio Historical Society
provided a very comprehensive report to the National Statuary
Collection Study Committee at the conclusion of public voting. In one paragraph of
his report he writes, “At the outset of the process, I would
have been very impressed with 25,000 votes. As you know, we
received almost double that -- 48,736 Ohio ballots were
received. More
than 26,000 adult votes and over 22,500 student votes were
received over the 85-day vote period from March to June. That means, on an
average day this spring, about 573 Ohioans were thinking about
Ohio’s place in history and participating in the process to help
determine ‘Who Should Stand For Ohio?’ Not because they had to, but because they
were empowered to.”
When the final
vote tally was certified by Ohio-based certified public
accounting firm Rea & Associates, Thomas A. Edison was the
top vote-getter. The
Wright Brothers came in second, followed by Jesse Owens and
William M. McCulloch in the top 4 spots.
On August 26,
2010 the full Statuary Committee met to vote its recommendation
for Ohio’s representative to Statuary Hall. After a full,
extensive review of the entire process, the National Statuary
Study Committee’s vote was unanimous to recommend Edison as
Ohio’s replacement statue for Governor William Allen in Statuary
Hall in Washington, D.C. Again,
there was a lot of press coverage and newspaper and TV
announcements of Edison going to Washington. Still not so; on to
the Senate.
On February 1,
2011 Senator Mark Wagoner introduced S.B. 21 to send Edison to
Statuary Hall. The
bill passed the Senate (32-0) on April 13, 2011.
In
the final analysis, after Senator Wagoner’s Bill was stalled for
more than a year in the Ohio House, he attached the Edison
Statue bill to the State Budget Bill which passed both the
Senate and House and was signed into law by Governor Kasich on
June 11, 2012.
A
new statue of Thomas Alva Edison, of Milan, Ohio will now join
the statue of President James
Garfield as representatives of Ohio in the U.S. Capitol’s
National
Statuary Hall
in Washington D.C.
A
major celebration is certainly in order for “Team Edison”
supporters from all over Ohio.
This victory was about as difficult and persistent as
Edison’s perfection of the incandescent lamp and storage
battery. Let there
be no doubt, “The legacy of Edison is rooted deep in Buckeye
Soil and now he will shine his presence in Washington D.C. As my 8th
grade grandson said, “He represents the Heart and Soul of Ohio.”
Yes,
Edison will finally go to Washington but we have just confirmed
phase one of his statue. The
next phase will be directed by the Ohio Statuary Hall
Commission, a non-profit Ohio corporation. Please know the
following lines are strictly my own unofficial estimates but at
this point everyone wants to know the cost and time lines. I have heard the
average cost of placing a statue in the capitol is anywhere from
a half million to a million dollars. The time for fund raising and statue work
may be 2 years or more. The
cost of the statue will be 100% private funding. I will keep you
updated when I receive the formal introduction to phase two. I just want to say
thanks again to the Edison Team that made this happen,
especially Senator Mark Wagoner.
We all need to pinch ourselves to know this is real!!!
Don Gfell, Vice President, Edison Birthplace Museum
Edison Statuary Committee Chairman