Ronald M. Mottl

Ronald M. Mottl
Official portrait, 1981
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives from the 20th district
In office January 3, 1987 – February 5, 1997
Preceded by	June Kreuzer
Succeeded by	Ron Mottl Jr.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 23rd district
In office January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1983
Preceded by	William Edwin Minshall, Jr.
Succeeded by	District eliminated
Member of the Ohio Senate from the 24th district
In office January 3, 1969 – December 31, 1974
Preceded by	Francis D. Sullivan
Succeeded by	Jerome Stano
In office January 3, 1967 – December 31, 1968
Preceded by	At-Large
Succeeded by	Gertrude Polcar
Member of the Parma City Council[1]
In office 1960–1966[1]
Personal details
Born	Ronald Milton Mottl (1934-02-06)February 6, 1934 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Died	October 13, 2023(2023-10-13) (aged 89)
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Debra[2]
Children	4[2]
Education	University of Notre Dame (BS, JD)[1]
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army[1]
Years of service	1957[1]

Ronald Milton Mottl (February 6, 1934 – October 13, 2023) was an American lawyer and politician who served in the Ohio General Assembly for multiple decades. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served four terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1983.

Early life

Ronald Milton Mottl was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Miroslav Václav Josef Mottl and Anna Hummel, a couple of Czech descent.^[3] His father, an immigrant from Počaply, died from chronic valvular heart disease when he was 11.^[4][5] His mother, born in Pittsburgh to parents from Kvaň and Mýto, remarried to Václav Schovánek from Kladno.^[6] Mottl graduated from Parma Schaaf High School in 1952 and later was inducted into the school’s athletic hall of fame. He attended the University of Notre Dame for which he played baseball in 1955.^[7][1] He served in the United States Army Reserves in 1957.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Mottl was a lawyer, and served on the city council of Parma, Ohio from 1960 to 1966^[8] and the Ohio state legislature from 1967 until 1975.^{[citation needed]}

Mottl served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1975 to 1983.^[1] A conservative Democrat, Mottl was an ally of Ronald Reagan's legislative agenda.^[9] In 1982, Mottl lost the Democratic primary^[1] to Ed Feighan, thereby losing his seat.^[10]

Mottl returned to local politics, serving on the Parma school board from 1985 until 1986, and as president of the school board in 1986, until he was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives, where he served until 1997.^[1] He was also an unsuccessful candidate for mayor of North Royalton, Ohio in 1999.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life and death

Mottl had four children.^[9] Ronald Jr. and Ronda are from his first marriage and Ron Michael (Mickey) and Amanda Leigh are from his second marriage to Debbie.^[9]

Mottl died on October 13, 2023, at the age of 89.^[11]

See also

• List of United States representatives from Ohio

References

• Appearances on C-SPAN

1. "MOTTL, Ronald Milton". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
2. The President's Corner
3. Apple Jr, R. W. (1970-08-22). "Fall Elections in Ohio to Test Power of Incumbents". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
4. "Státní oblastní archiv v Praze". ebadatelna.soapraha.cz. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
5. Mottl (1945). "Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953". FamilySearch.
6. Schovanek (1987). "United States Social Security Death Index". FamilySearch.
7. "Notre Dame Athletics | The Fighting Irish". Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
8. Sandrick, Bob (2011-04-07). "Ron "Mickey" Mottl hopes to follow his father to the political stage". cleveland. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
9. Maxa, Rudy (8 November 1981). "From Beautiful Downtown Parma, It's Rep. Ron Mottl and the Ronettes". The Washington Post.
10. Peterson, Iver (1982-06-13). "The Ohio Primary Provides Little to Cling To". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
11. Ronald Mottl obituary

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by William Edwin Minshall, Jr.	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 23rd congressional district 1975–1983	Succeeded by District eliminated