Representative Edward Farrell Feighan

Edward Farrell “Ed” Feighan (born October 22, 1947) is a former American politician who represented Ohio in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 1993. A member of the Democratic Party, he served five terms in Congress as the U.S. Representative for Ohio’s 19th congressional district and contributed to the legislative process during a significant period in late twentieth-century American political history.

Feighan was born in Lakewood, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. He graduated in 1965 from St. Edward High School, an all-boys Catholic high school on Cleveland’s west side. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1969 from Loyola University in New Orleans, Louisiana. While building his early political career, he pursued legal studies at Cleveland State University College of Law at Cleveland State University, receiving his Juris Doctor in 1978. His legal education, completed while he was already serving in elected office, provided a foundation for his subsequent work in public policy and business.

Feighan was first elected to public office in 1972 as a State Representative from Cleveland in the Ohio House of Representatives. He served for six years in the Ohio Legislature, where he gained experience in state-level lawmaking and constituent service. In 1977, he sought higher office and ran for Mayor of Cleveland, entering a closely watched race in a city facing substantial economic and fiscal challenges. He lost that narrow contest to Dennis Kucinich, who would later also serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. After his tenure in the state legislature, Feighan was elected a Cuyahoga County Commissioner, holding that position from 1979 to 1983 and playing a role in county governance during a period of transition and redevelopment in the greater Cleveland area.

In 1982, Feighan was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Democrat from Ohio’s 19th congressional district and took office on January 3, 1983. He served five consecutive terms, remaining in Congress until January 3, 1993. During his decade in the House of Representatives, he participated in the democratic process at the federal level, representing the interests of his constituents from northeastern Ohio and contributing to legislative deliberations during a time marked by the late Cold War, shifting economic policies, and domestic debates over social and fiscal issues. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, and he was part of the broader Democratic caucus that engaged with the Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations on a wide range of national policy questions.

Feighan was not a candidate for renomination in 1992 to the 103rd Congress. His decision came in the context of the House banking scandal, which affected numerous members of Congress, and the prospect of a difficult primary contest against fellow Democratic incumbent Mary Rose Oakar following redistricting in Ohio. With his departure at the conclusion of his fifth term, his congressional career closed after ten years of continuous service.

Following his retirement from Congress, Feighan embarked on a career in the private sector, particularly in insurance, financial services, and business advisory roles. From 1993 to 1996, he served as a director of ProCentury Corporation, a Westerville, Ohio-based specialty insurance company, and its insurance subsidiaries. From November 1997 until August 1998, he was a Senior Vice President of Century Business Services, a Cleveland-based provider of outsourced business services now known as CBIZ. Between 1998 and 2000, Feighan served as president of Avalon National Corporation, a holding company for a workers’ compensation insurance agency. During that same period, from September 1998 until May 2003, he was a managing partner of Alliance Financial, Ltd., a merchant banking firm specializing in mergers and acquisitions.

Feighan’s association with ProCentury deepened over time. In 2000, he again became a director of ProCentury, for which he had also served intermittently as special counsel. In October 2003, he was named chairman, president, and chief executive officer of ProCentury, overseeing the company’s operations and strategic direction in the specialty insurance market. He remained in those leadership roles until July 31, 2008, when he resigned following the sale of ProCentury to Meadowbrook Insurance Group. Building on his extensive experience in financial and insurance services, Feighan later moved into the real estate services sector. Since February 2014, he has served as the chief executive officer of Covius, a commercial and residential real estate advisory services company, continuing his post-congressional career in corporate leadership and advisory work.