Knocked out of the statehouse in 2000 by term limits, Bob Schuler is trying to get back to Columbus as successor to Senate President Richard Finan.

        Mr. Schuler, a Sycamore Township Republican, has announced he will run for the state Senate seat that Mr. Finan has to leave in 2002 because of term limits. Mr. Finan, an Evendale Republican, has been in the legislature since 1978.

        The candidacy of Mr. Schuler was considered a certainty.

        Mr. Schuler, who has been endorsed by Mr. Finan, said he'll stress in his campaign a regional approach to growth, economic development and planning.

        “I've always tried to work with people among different communities,” Mr. Schuler said.

        He cited his experience as a member of the Hamilton County Planning Commission and as president of the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments.

        Mr. Schuler, 58, is a self-employed real estate appraiser and has been consulting for Sycamore Township on economic development issues, including the widening of Montgomery Road north to Warren County and maintaining Kenwood Towne Centre as a premier shopping location.

        The 7th Senate District now includes the 36th and 37th House districts in eastern Hamilton County and the 2nd District in Warren County. Reapportionment following the 2000 Census will rearrange the boundaries of the Senate district in Hamilton County. It will remain the only Senate district in Warren County.

        The Senate district will be about 72 percent Republican, Mr. Schuler estimated, which makes him the favorite in the November 2002 elections. In the last election, Mr. Finan won with 71 percent of the vote.

        Hamilton County Democratic Party co-chairman Tim Burke, noting the Republican tendencies in the district, acknowledged it will be difficult for a Democrat to win.

        Mr. Schuler served as state representative from the 36th House district from 1993-2000.

        He could not run for re-election in 2000 because term limits restrict lawmakers 7to eight consecutive years in office. The last time he ran for office, in 1998, Mr. Schuler took 72 percent of the vote.

        In the House, Mr. Schuler chaired the Local Government and Township Committee and was a member of the Public Utilities, Financial Institutions, and Public Lands committees.

        He is a former Sycamore Township trustee and Deer Park City Council member.

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