A graduate of
Ohio State University, Ford received his
master's degree in
public administration and his law degree from the
University of Toledo. He spent most of his working life as an educator, teaching primarily at the
University of Toledo for 22 years, but also at
Bowling Green State University and
Owens Community College. In November 1987, Ford was elected to the Toledo City Council. Ford served in the
Ohio House of Representatives for seven years, and was Democratic leader of the Ohio House for the final three. He was a speaker at the
2000 Democratic National Convention. In November 2001, he was elected Toledo mayor, replacing another Democrat,
Carty Finkbeiner who, four years later, on November 8, 2005, was returned to office, defeating Ford in his re-election bid. On March 7, 2006, media reports revealed that Ford would be returning to
Bowling Green State University as a practitioner-in-residence in the
College of Arts and Sciences effective March 13, 2006. According to reports, Ford will mostly teach in the department of political science. In June 2007, Ford was selected to fill a vacancy on the Toledo
Board of Education. In his public career as a legislator and city executive, Ford was responsible for the creation of the Toledo Youth Commission, the lead abatement program, the medication education for the elderly program, the Toledo curfew law, and the
drug paraphernalia law. He founded two organizations dealing with drug and alcohol addiction. He was also a member of
Omega Psi Phi fraternity. Ford died the morning of March 21, 2015 at the age of 67. ==References==