Central to Chairman Redfern’s goals has been the “88-County Strategy” which recognizes that Democrats win by competing for votes in every area of Ohio, metropolitan or micropolitan, industrial or agricultural, urban or rural.

The strategy bore fruit immediately in 2006 with the election of Governor Ted Strickland, Senator Sherrod Brown, and three other statewide candidates. These broad-based victories proved that Democrats could win in any region of the state. Following these sweeping successes, Chairman Redfern led the Ohio Democratic Party into key municipal elections, capturing the Canton mayor’s office for the first time in sixteen years and helping to elect the first African-American mayor in the history of Mansfield, Ohio.

In 2008, Chairman Redfern set the party’s sights on historic victories in the general election and began constructing the largest field operation ever envisioned by a state political party. Together, the Campaign for Change and the Ohio Democratic Party registered 105,862 new Ohio voters and engaged in 3,552,486 conversations with Ohioans at their doors or on the phone. Fueling these record-breaking figures were the efforts of more than 60,000 committed volunteers from neighborhoods across Ohio.

On Election Day 2008, Ohio Democrats delivered a decisive victory for Barack Obama and picked up three new congressional seats. Democrats also captured the Ohio House of Representatives on a legislative map drawn by state Republicans, a feat never before seen in Ohio history.

Although the 2010 election cycle was a difficult one for Democrats in Ohio and nationally, the Ohio Democratic Party funded more than 21 million voter contacts across all 88 counties. This extraordinary voter outreach was noted by Politico and other national publications as reasons why Ohio Democrats almost bucked the national trend.

Chairman Redfern previously represented the families of the 80th Ohio State House District in the General Assembly for five terms where he established himself as a leading voice for fiscal discipline, an advocate for tax fairness, and a staunch proponent and advocate for Lake Erie. Redfern served in various leadership positions within the House Democratic Caucus, including Minority Leader from 2003 until early 2006. Before coming to the Statehouse, Chairman Redfern was an Ottawa County Commissioner – the youngest in the state when his term began in 1993.

Chairman Redfern attended Bowling Green State University where he earned both a Bachelor’s Degree and then his Master’s Degree in state and local government. He received the BGSU Accomplished Graduate Award in 2004. Chairman Redfern lives on Catawba Island with his wife Kim and their daughter, Reese.