Dave Hobson


David Lee Hobson is an American politician who served as a Republican congressman from the seventh congressional district of Ohio.

Early life and education

Hobson was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and graduated from Withrow High School in 1954. He received a bachelor of arts degree from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1958 and a law degree from Ohio State University in 1963. He served in the Ohio Air National Guard from 1958 to 1963, serving in Europe throughout the Berlin Crisis of 1961 and obtaining the rank of Airman First Class. Hobson served as an Ohio state senator from 1982 to 1990, serving as president pro tempore of the Ohio Senate from 1988 to 1990.
He served in numerous leadership roles, including president pro tempore, majority whip, chairman of the Health, Human Services and Aging Committee and chairman of the Reference and Oversight Committee. In the Ohio Senate, Hobson wrote AIDS legislation when it was difficult to do so. He was also involved in legislative efforts to help Alzheimer’s patients. In the early 1980s, he played a key role at the state level in the huge local effort to keep International Harvester in Springfield.

Congress

Hobson has worked to improve and privatize military housing, invest in defense research and development at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, has supported the aeronautics and research programs at the NASA Glenn Research Center, and has supported numerous projects at the Cleveland Clinic. He is widely credited with improving management practices at the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Energy, and has deep experience working with health care, energy, water, infrastructure and education projects.
He has supported community projects, including include Nextedge Applied Research and Technology Park, preserving the Springfield Air National Guard Base, and protecting Wright-Patterson Air Force base, his district’s largest employer.
Before elected to public office, Hobson was involved in both real estate development and the restaurant industry. He also worked at the Kissell Company in Springfield, Ohio and at the Union Central Life Insurance Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Committee Assignments