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Former Columbus City Council member, Franklin County Commissioner and mayoral candidate Dorothy Teater has died at 94.Teater was the first woman elected Franklin County commissioner and the first to run on a major party ticket for Columbus mayor.Colleagues and political opponents remember her as a “trailblazer” for women in politics and a dedicated public servant.Teater’s husband, Bob, also had a distinguished career in public service, including directing the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Dorothy Teater, a former Columbus City Council member, Franklin County commissioner and Columbus mayoral candidate who opened doors for women in central Ohio politics, has died at age 94.

Teater died the morning of July 29 at Ohio State University Hospital from heart failure, her family confirmed. She was known as a “trailblazer” in central Ohio politics who paved the way for women to become more involved in politics, according to Mike Curtin, a former Democratic member of the Ohio House of Representatives and a former Dispatch editor and publisher.

“What I will always remember Dorothy for is being a pioneer and trailblazer for women in politics,” Curtin said. He recalled Teater’s nature of never mincing words and being a “blunt, plain spoken” person. Others remembered Teater as a down-to-earth person who wasn’t afraid to get involved in community issues.

Andy Teater, 63, one of Dorothy’s four sons and a Hilliard City Council member, said that both his parents lived great lives filled with public service, ultimately influencing him to pursue a career in public service and politics.

“As their children, we’re so lucky to have parents that raised us and modeled honesty, integrity, faith and generosity,” Andy said. When The Dispatch spoke with Andy on July 29, he said that no concrete funeral plans had been made.

Friends, political opponents remember Teater’s commitment to service

Teater was elected in 1979 to the Columbus City Council and later re-elected in 1983. In 1984, she was elected as a Franklin County commissioner, becoming the first woman elected to the commission. In that race, she beat Fran Ryan, a Democrat, and served in that position for 16 years.

“She was an excellent officeholder,” Ryan said. “We might have been on opposite sides of the fence, but we always got along and respected each other.” Ryan also said that her husband, Dick Ryan, and Dorothy’s husband, Bob Teater, were good friends who all got along like family. Ryan said that while they all had their political differences, their goals were always to improve Columbus.

Teater was also the first woman to run on a major political ticket in central Ohio, where she ran for mayor against Michael Coleman, a race that “broke the glass ceiling.”

According to Coleman, that particular race was a big deal for Columbus at the time because the city was choosing between having its first African American mayor or its first woman mayor.

“That was unheard of in Columbus at the time,” Coleman said. While they were political opponents on opposite sides of the aisle, Coleman said he always had “deep admiration” for Teater and her values.

Even though Coleman ultimately took the victory in the mayoral race, he recalled one competition where he lost to Teater: a horse and buggy race at Scioto Downs.

“Now that loss (to Teater) was decisive,” Coleman chuckled. He revealed that they always laughed about it together after the mayoral race.

Dorothy and Bob remembered as ‘dynamic duo’

Friends and former political opponents also remember Dorothy and her husband, Bob Teater, as a power couple committed to public service. Bob served in the United States Army, the Ohio Army National Guard and later directed the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

He was also founded The Wilds animal preserve in Muskingum County and served on the Columbus Board of Education.

“She and Bob were a dynamic duo,” said Jeff Cabot, who worked for Dorothy for 20 years while she served on Columbus City Council and as Franklin County commissioner.

Bob also served on the Columbus Board of Education for three terms, including three years as president.

He was a member of the Ohio Agricultural, Veterans, Natural Resources, National Guard, League of Ohio Sportsmen and Ohio State Fair halls of fame and was Conservationist of the Year, awarded by the National Wildlife Federation.

Bob died July 21, 2013, due to complications from Parkinson’s, according to his obituary.

Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.