Nancy Putnam Hollister became Ohio’s first female governor Thursday, beginning an 11-day term that will last until Bob Taft is inaugurated Jan. 11 as Ohio’s 67th governor.”I look forward with great anticipation to the day when a woman will be elected to this office,” Hollister said in her inauguration speech in the Ohio Statehouse atrium. “And I feel that day will come sooner rather than later.”Hollister, 49, replaced former Gov. George Voinovich after he left the post early to begin his tenure in Washington as one of Ohio’s two senators. Taft, who defeated Democrat Lee Fisher in last November’s gubernatorial election, cannot take office until his inauguration.Hollister, who was Voinovich’s lieutenant governor and therefore next in line for the governor’s office, had to take over for what she called “the final leg of a journey that began in 1991,” when Voinovich became Ohio’s 65th governor.So what will Hollister do in her short stint as governor?”I will offer no major initiatives. I will commute no sentences. I will propose no legislation,” Hollister said. “But most of all, I will spare you the State of the State address.”Hollister’s goal is to provide a smooth transition between Voinovich and Taft’s administrations, she said.Much of Hollister’s official gubernatorial schedule consists of ceremonial events, including awards and swearing-in ceremonies. But she is also expected to sign into law today the Farmland Preservation Bill, which is designed to make it easier for land to be designated for agricultural use. At the inauguration ceremony, Voinovich said Hollister deserved to sign the bill herself because she worked hard to get it passed.”I’ve always admired Nancy’s work ethic, tenacity and dedication,” Voinovich said in his last speech as governor. “As lieutenant governor, Nancy, you have gone far beyond what I’ve asked you to do.””It is comforting to know that someone of your quality will be running the state for the next 11 days, with all of the power and responsibility that goes with that,” he said.Following Voinovich’s speech, Hollister took the oath of office as several family members watched, including her husband, Jeff; her 19-month-old granddaughter, Taylor Meridian; and four of her five children, Justin, 22, Emily, 19, Kate, 16, and Jonathan, 28. Another son, Justin, 25, is currently completing graduate school in Australia.Hollister is a descendant of Revolutionary War hero Gen. Israel Putnam. Another Putnam ancestor, Brig. Gen. Rufus Putnam, led the pioneers who founded Marietta, Ohio, where Hollister still resides and was the town’s first female mayor, according to program notes.After the ceremony, Hollister administered the oath of office to the members of her cabinet and made several appointments to courts and commissions.Hollister said a decision will be coming soon about what she will do once her term as governor expires on Jan. 11. Hollister was defeated in November by Democrat Ted Strickland in her bid for a seat in the Ohio House of Representatives, but is interested in filling the seat left vacant by state Rep. Tom Johnson, R-New Concord, who will become Taft’s budget director, she said.