While some state representatives are preparing for elections in November, Ohio Representative Amy Salerno is searching for a new career path because her term expired this year.

After graduating from the Mortiz College of Law at Ohio State, Salerno started her career as an attorney. She first ran for the Columbus City Council, and was elected as a state representative of district 23 in 1994.

“I found it to be a wonderful experience,” Salerno said. “I truly have enjoyed being a state representative. I am very proud to represent Ohio State at the Statehouse.”

She served on the committee of financial institutions, as well as other standing committees such as economic development and small business, local government and townships and insurance.

“Amy will be clearly missed,” said Representative Larry Wolpert, who has been working closely with Salerno in the committees. “She is passionate for her job.”

“She should be very proud of what she accomplished,” said Jo Ann Davidson, a former speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives and a member of the OSU Board of Trustees.

Salerno has a strong interest in child-related issues, Davidson said. Salerno changed many of the Ohio laws that dealt with child abuse. This is one of the things Salerno is most proud of, she said.

“It’s very sad for me,” Salerno said. “I would prefer not to be leaving if there weren’t term limits. There is a lot of work I would like to finish. There is more legislation I would like to do.”

Members of the Ohio House of Representative have term limits of four consecutive, two-year terms said Herb Asher, professor emeritus of political science at OSU.

Before 1992, when the voters of Ohio approved an amendment in the Ohio constitution, the members of the Ohio House had no term limits.

“There were a number of Americans who were upset with lengthy service,” Asher said.

The public thought the incumbents became too powerful, therefore, the term limit movement deliberately wanted to weaken the power by forcing the incumbents to leave after a certain period of time, said Asher.

Eight years are a fair amount of time, Davidson said.

However, if term limits allowed state representatives a few more years to serve, it probably would be more effective by allowing representatives to achieve their goals, Davidson said.

There is a variety of things House representatives can do after their term expires, Asher said. Some can run for Senate or a County Commission, others may go back into the business they had.

“I want to stay in a public service in some way,” Salerno said.

Salerno is looking at judicial positions, other elected offices and other positions within government. Working on family and children issues is also an option, she said.

Salerno will have a lot of opportunities, Davidson said.

When Davidson faced the term expiration, she said she did not seriously consider running for office because of her age.

Davidson said young women like Salerno will have great chances to continue to explore opportunities in the elected office.

“I think for women who leave elected office, we generally try to keep our options open and take a look at any kind of opportunities we might have in the future,” Davidson said.

It is a tough job being a mother of a young baby and a political leader, but Salerno is very dedicated to her work, Wolpert said.

“She is a great mom and she is a great leader for Franklin County,” Wolpert said.