Elected officials and the general public gathered at Cleveland City Hall today to pay their respects to former mayor, governor and U.S. Sen. George Voinovich. Voinovich, who died last weekend at age 79, laid in state and will be buried tomorrow.
Throughout the day, about 100 people passed by Voinovich’s coffin in the City Hall rotunda. During an afternoon ceremony, he was eulogized by Mayor Frank Jackson, Gov. John Kasich and Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine among others. DeWine called Voinovich a friend to him and his wife and a political mentor.
“George Voinovich was a good and decent man, a leader, a statesman, a visionary. His mission in life was to serve others. In so doing, he changed lives, and made this city, made this state, and made this country a far better place. Fran and I will miss him dearly.”
Voinovich lived his entire life in Cleveland, and though he was a Republican, he served as the predominantly Democratic city’s mayor from 1980 to 1989.
