Early Life, Education, and Early Political Career
Schmidt, born in Cincinnati, Ohio, is a lifelong resident of Clermont County's Miami Township, along the eastern shore of Little Miami River near Milford and Loveland. One of four children (two daughters, two sons) of Augustus ("Gus") and Jeannette Hoffman, she has a twin sister, Jennifer Black. Her father made his money in the savings and loan industry, then ran an auto racing team that competed in the Indianapolis 500.
She earned a B.A. in political science from the University of Cincinnati in 1974. Schmidt worked in her father's bank, the Midwestern Savings Association, as a branch manager from 1971 to 1978. Schmidt was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1984. She was a fitness instructor from 1984 to 1986, when she began a four-year career as a schoolteacher.
Schmidt was elected as a Miami Township trustee in 1989, finishing first of three candidates for two seats and winning 4,362 votes. When Clermont County Commissioner Jerry McBride resigned in 1991 to become a judge, Schmidt was one of four candidates to replace him, but was not appointed by the Clermont County Republican Party. In her 1993 bid for reelection, she finished first in a field of four, taking 3,644 votes.
In 1995, she traveled to Russia to offer instruction about political campaigning in a country that had little experience of free elections. On her trip she ran in Moscow's Red Square: "Did I ever feel unsafe? No. And would I jog through Central Park in New York? No way."
One major issue during her service on the Board of Trustees was one common in Ohio: a city, in this case Milford, was annexing parts of the township. She and other trustees lobbied the Ohio General Assembly for new laws to protect townships from such annexations. In 1993, a panel of Miami Township residents recommended the township incorporate to protect itself from annexations, to have greater control over its territory, and to obtain more money from the state. However, Schmidt as a trustee was not a participant in this effort, saying she had to be a "cheerleader" on the sides. (The incorporation effort failed.)
Schmidt was reelected to a third term in 1997, finishing first in a field of three with 5,110 votes. "Jean has been an excellent trustee and has done so much for this community. It is going to be hard to find someone that's as committed to the township as she has been," said David Duckworth, Miami Township administrator, when she resigned her trustee seat to enter the Ohio House. The remaining two trustees appointed Mary Makley Wolff to the remainder of the term.
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