Phil Davison | |
---|---|
Deputy Mayor of Minerva | |
In office 2001–2013 | |
Member of Minerva City Council | |
In office 1997–2013 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Philip Lee Davison July 1,1971 Minerva,Ohio,U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Education | University of Akron (BA,MPA) |
Philip Lee Davison (born July 1,1971) is an American politician,public speaker,and Internet celebrity. He is a former councilman and deputy mayor for the village of Minerva,Ohio,who became an internet celebrity due to the aggressive and passionate manner of speaking he employed while unsuccessfully seeking the Republican Party nomination for the office of the Stark County treasurer in September 2010. [1]
A native of Minerva,Davison graduated from Minerva High School in 1989. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and sociology from the University of Akron,followed by a Masters in Public Administration [2] [3] and Communication.
In 1995,Davison ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Minerva. [4] In 1996,he ran unsuccessfully for clerk of courts, [5] and also lost a bid for county commissioner in 2000. [6] [7] Davison first won election to the Minerva Village council in 1997. [8] He was re-elected to four additional four-year terms, [9] and was appointed Deputy Mayor. [10] He decided not to seek re-election in 2013,which would have been his first election since his 2010 speech went viral. [11]
Until 2009,he was employed as a bailiff for Judge Charles Brown of the Stark County Court of Common Pleas. [6]
During a September 8,2010 meeting of the Stark County Republican Party at Malone University,Davison delivered a six-minute speech expressing his interest in the party's nomination for County Treasurer. Though Davison lost the nomination to North Canton finance director Alexander Zumbar, [6] Huffington Post citizen journalist Martin Olson's recording of Davison's speech [12] went viral upon its posting on YouTube. [13] By October 2011,YouTube users had viewed the video nearly 2.6 million times. [14] Thereafter,Davison was flown to New York City for an appearance on Good Morning America and to Cleveland for an interview with Inside Edition . [15] He was featured in major media outlets throughout the United States [16] and the world. During his appearances,Davison discussed his astonishment with his instant celebrity,commenting on how he "woke up Thursday thinking it would be just another day" but then began receiving phone calls for media requests. [15] [17] In response to the public interest in his speech,Davison remarked:
If one person would get up and do something different,like go to a village council meeting or go talk to a neighbor about getting an improvement in water,an improvement in sewer,an improvement in fire protection or police protection,then I've done something worthwhile. I encourage everyone to run for office and go out and question the people who are representing you. I wish more people came to our meetings and said,'Hey,what are you people doing up there?' [18]
Six months later,Davison appeared on the March 8,2011 episode of Comedy Central's Tosh.0 in a "web redemption" parody taped the previous November. In it,Davison made a mock presidential campaign announcement, [19] foreshadowing an actual presidential campaign as unsuccessful candidate for the Boston Tea Party's 2012 presidential nomination. [20]
He appeared in a 2013 television commercial for Volkswagen which aired during Super Bowl XLVII after a "teaser" version of the ad had run a few days prior. The ad featured Davison and other YouTube personalities appearing with reggae singer Jimmy Cliff. [21] [22] In October of that year,Davison's speech was ranked #1 on Washington Post writer Aaron Blake's list of "The 12 best political rants". Blake commented that Davison "will never be usurped in the rant department." [23]
In January 2014,Davison topped CNN's ranking of "the best rants ever". [24] In July of that year,he appeared on the ABC program 20/20 in a segment titled "Losing It". [25]
Summit County is an urban county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census,the population was 540,428,making it the fourth-most populous county in Ohio. Its county seat and largest city is Akron. The county was formed on March 3,1840,from portions of Medina,Portage and Stark Counties. It was named Summit County because the highest elevation on the Ohio and Erie Canal is located in the county.
Stark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census,the population was 374,853. Its county seat is Canton. The county was created in 1808 and organized the next year. It is named for John Stark,an officer in the American Revolutionary War.
Canton is a city in and the county seat of Stark County,Ohio,United States. It is located approximately 60 miles (97 km) south of Cleveland and 20 miles (32 km) south of Akron in Northeast Ohio on the edge of Ohio's Amish Country. As of the 2020 census,the population of Canton was 70,872,making Canton eighth among Ohio cities in population. It is the largest municipality in the Canton–Massillon metropolitan area,which includes all of Stark and Carroll counties,and was home to 401,574 residents in 2020.
Akron is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau,about 40 miles (64 km) south of downtown Cleveland. At the 2020 census,the city proper had a total population of 190,469,making it the 136th-largest city in the United States. The Akron metropolitan area,covering Summit and Portage counties,had a population of 702,219.
Minerva is a village primarily in Stark and Carroll counties in the U.S. state of Ohio,with a small district in Columbiana County. The population was 3,684 at the 2020 census. Most of Minerva is part of the Canton–Massillon metropolitan area.
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Francis E. Gaul was an American politician of the Democratic party. He was the Treasurer of Cuyahoga County,Ohio from 1976 to 1995.
Stark State College is a public community college in Stark County,Ohio. The college offers 230 majors,options,one-year certificates,and career enhancement certificates. Approximately 4,000 noncredit students are enrolled in continuing education and contract training activities. As of fall 2019,the enrollment was 11,833.
SARTA,(Stark Area Regional Transit Authority),is a public sector transit agency servicing Stark County,a county in Ohio containing Canton,Alliance,and Massillon. In addition to its regular line service within Stark County,SARTA runs one bus route (with multiple times) between Canton and downtown Akron,connecting to Akron's METRO RTA bus system and also serving the Akron-Canton Regional Airport from both cities and one route to Cleveland starting March 4,2013. In 2022,the system had a ridership of 1,221,400,or about 5,200 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2023.
Jessie Marie Davis was a murdered,near-term pregnant,26-year-old American woman first reported missing from her home in Lake Township,Stark County,Ohio on June 15,2007. The case drew an extraordinary response from the American media. On February 15,2008,Bobby Lee Cutts Jr.,a police officer and the father of her 2-year-old son and unborn daughter,was convicted of the aggravated murders of Davis and their unborn child. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole for 57 years on February 27,2008. A high-school friend of Cutts,Myisha Lynne Ferrell,was also later charged.
David Dudley Dowd Jr. was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in Akron,Ohio.
The 2016 United States Senate election in Ohio was held November 8,2016,to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Ohio,concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election,as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. The close of registration for electors in the primary election was December 16,2015,and the primary election took place on March 15,2016. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Rob Portman faced former Democratic Governor Ted Strickland. Green Party nominee Joseph DeMare was also on the ballot along with two other independent candidates and one officially declared write-in candidate.
The 2018 Ohio gubernatorial election took place on November 6,2018,to elect the next governor of Ohio,concurrently with the election of Ohio's Class I U.S. Senate seat,as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states,elections to the United States House of Representatives,and various Ohio and local elections. Incumbent Republican Governor John Kasich was term-limited and could not seek re-election for a third consecutive term.
The Ohio general elections,2018,were held on November 6,2018,throughout Ohio.
Thomas E. West is an American businessman and politician who served as the State Representative for the 49th District of the Ohio House of Representatives from 2017 to 2023. The district consisted of a portion of Stark County,including Canton and most of Massillon. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Jane Eileen Murphy Timken is an American attorney who served as chair of the Ohio Republican Party from 2017 to 2021. She was a candidate in the 2022 United States Senate election in Ohio.
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On March 10,2021,Marcia Fudge resigned her seat in the United States House of Representatives after being confirmed by the United States Senate to serve as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Biden administration. Governor Mike DeWine set the primary date for August 3,concurrent with the special election in Ohio's 15th congressional district. The general election was on November 2. Shontel Brown won both the competitive Democratic primary and the general election,and was sworn in on November 4.
Minerva Monster is a 2015 American documentary film written and directed by Seth Breedlove,about the purported sightings of an alleged Bigfoot-like creature around the town of Minerva,in Paris Township,Stark County,Ohio,in 1978. The first in a series of cryptid-related documentaries produced by Breedlove's production company Small Town Monsters,the film features interviews with law enforcement,media officials,and supposed witnesses of the titular creature.
The 2023 Akron mayoral election will be held on November 7,2023,to elect the mayor of Akron,Ohio. Party primaries were held on May 2. Incumbent Democratic mayor Dan Horrigan chose not to seek re-election to a third term in office.