America has two black Republican lieutenant governors, Jennette Bradley of Ohio, and Michael Steele of Maryland. Both took office in January 2003 after November elections. Both are the first of their race to hold such office in their respective states. Bradley and Steele are at the Republican National Convention. BlackAmericaWeb.com correspondents caught up with them and they are profiled below:
NEW YORK – For those folks who thought Jennette Bradley’s election as Ohio’s – and the nation’s – first woman lieutenant governor two years ago was a milestone event, she’s got news for them: it was her second time around being an electoral first. More than a decade earlier, Bradley was the first black woman to win a seat on the city council of her home town of Columbus, Ohio.
“That was groundbreaking in itself,” Bradley told BlackAmericaWeb.com from her hotel room in New York City, where she attended this week’s Republican national convention.
The former senior vice president of a large bank served 11 years on the city council before she became Republican candidate Robert Taft’s gubernatorial running mate in 2002.
Bradley, whose father was a career Army man and also a Republican – “that’s probably where I was most influenced,” she said – believes she can one day make a run for governor of her state and win the office.
After all, when she won the city council race in Columbus – where candidates for municipal legislative seats run at-large – she unseated an incumbent Democrat and garnered the most votes in a town that is at most, she estimates, 20 percent black.
“I don’t think it’s improbable I could win statewide,” Bradley said, while giving a hint about the key to her political success.
“There’s a very large segment of independent voters,” Bradley said, “and there’s always the challenge of appealing to that segment as well.”
Bradley has been a busy woman since she took over the job of lieutenant governor. She serves as the director of Ohio’s Department of Commerce and is the chairwoman of both the Clean Ohio Council and the Ohio Housing Finance Agency. The latter helps state residents with affordable housing.
This year Taft appointed Bradley to his Jobs Cabinet. Bradley also serves as the governor’s Small Business Liaison and works with his Small Business Advisory Council.
Steele striving to attract more Blacks to GOP in Md.
By WAYNE DAWKINS, BlackAmericaWeb.com
NEW YORK -- Michael S. Steele made history in 2002 as the first black to become lieutenant governor of Maryland. He was not elected by the voters, as is the case in neighbor Virginia and other states. Like the U.S. vice president, Steele was picked by the elected leader, in this case Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich Jr.
In that election, most blacks voted for the Democrat who lost. “We got 14 percent of the black vote,” Steele told BlackAmericaWeb.com during an interview shortly after he paid tribute to a handful of fellow lieutenant governors at a GOP prayer breakfast. “In the previous election [1998] we got 6 percent. I look at this as a victory. We need to show progress in the African-American community.”
Steele’s resume suggests that he is game for a long crusade. His involvement in Republican politics dates back to 1978, a few years before he earned his bachelor's degree in international relations from Johns Hopkins University. In 2000 he was elected chairman of the state Republican Party, another black first, and he serves as a member of the executive committee of the Republican National Committee. Steele, 46, serves on numerous state and national political committees, councils and task forces.
As second to the governor, Steele said he has been chosen by Ehrlich to lead economic development, K-16 education -- which includes elementary, secondary and college -- and faith-based programs.
This month, Maryland launches its faith-based initiative which Steele said will have the state help non-profit social service organizations affiliated with churches get easier access to state and federal grant programs.
Despite only 1 out of 7 black Maryland voters choosing the Ehrlich-Steele team two years ago, Steele said, “We’re absolutely making significant inroads in the African-American community. We’re not at the point of seeing Eisenhower-like numbers – 50 to 60 percent black support – but the steps we are taking now are important. The governor and I are making many grass roots level visits and we shut up and listen to the people.”
