Walter E. Powell

Who is Walter E. Powell?

Walter Eugene Powell was an American politician of the Republican party who served as a U.S. representative from Ohio from 1971 to 1975. Powell began his career as the city clerk of Fairfield, Ohio in 1956, and became a member of Fairfield City Council in 1958. In 1960, Powell successfully ran for the Ohio House of Representatives. He was reelected in 1962, and 1964.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 provided Powell with incentive to run for the Ohio Senate, which he did. He ended up winning, and took a seat in the upper chamber on January 3, 1967. While he was up for reelection to the Senate in 1970, he instead initially opted to run for Ohio State Treasurer. However, he eventually entered the race a seat in the United States House of Representatives. He went on to win the seat, and ultimately swapped seats with his predecessor, Buz Lukens, who then was appointed to Powell's senate seat.

Powell went on to serve two terms in Congress, and opted to retire after his second term ended in 1975, and was succeeded by Tom Kindness. Following his tenure in Congress, he retired to Middletown, Ohio.