COLUMBUS — The grandiose halls, foyers and stairwells of the Ohio Statehouse were quiet on Friday, just one day before New Year’s weekend began.
But in the picturesque, echoey rotunda — where Abraham Lincoln lay in state on April 29, 1865 and where countless other political giants once stood — state representative-elect Melanie Miller took the oath of office.
Five days before the state’s official swearing-in ceremony, Miller wore a bright, yellow skirt suit that stood out in the dimly lit alcove like a songbird in a gray forest.
“I wanted something that would be bright and solid — and so, I went with yellow. Yellow is joyful and this is how I’m feeling today. A lot of joy, a lot of excitement and just so honored,” Miler said.
The Republican and former pageant queen was joined by family, friends and political figures from mostly Ashland, where she has lived and worked alongside her husband, Ashland Mayor Matt Miller, since 2007.
She said she decided to hold a separate swearing-in ceremony to honor all the people who supported her since last January, when she announced her candidacy for the newly-drawn Ohio House District 67, a district that envelopes all of Ashland County and part of Medina County.
She will join her colleagues from around the state on Jan. 3 to formally take office.
Her candidacy dragged along for months as the state Supreme Court argued the validity of the congressional maps that were viewed as gerrymandered. Yet, in August, she earned the GOP nomination with 62% of the votes cast.
Her victory in November was even more mammoth, earning 70% of the vote.
“So we wanted this to be very significant for all the people,” she said following her swearing in, which was led by Secretary of State Frank LaRose.
Since winning the election in November, she has traveled to and from Ashland to Columbus for meetings to learn about her new role. There were logistical things to figure out, like where to park, and practical, like which subcommittees she’d eventually join.
Miller will continue to serve in her role as executive director at Ashland County Pregnancy Care Center, but on Wednesdays, she’ll be in Columbus. Subcommittee roles have not yet been assigned, but those sessions will likely take place on Tuesday and Thursday.
“So I’ll probably be down here two or three times a week,” she said.
It’s an undertaking to which she feels a profound calling, she said, prescribing it a heavy responsibility — one akin to her day job at Ashland County Pregnancy Center.
The lawmaker’s platform aligns with her work.
Protecting the unborn is one of Miller’s “guiding principles,” she has said. Other principles she’s promised to represent in Columbus include “freedom, education, pro business and strong families,” according to her campaign website.
While being sworn in, Miller fought back emotions that choked her up a bit. She choked up again when thanking her husband, who she said supported her decision to run and to whom she looks as a model of “solid leadership.”
Miller devoted much of Friday’s ceremony to prayer, saying her decision to run for the seat was a “continual stirring and burden on her heart.”
To open Friday’s event, Richard Powers Sr. of Grace Baptist Church in Brunswick prayed for her next four years, “and many more to come.” Ashland’s Dave McNeely of New Life Community Church prayed for her moments after she took the oath of office.
“I would never run for office if I didn’t believe that (God) was calling me to do it,” Miller said. “I think the thing I’m going to focus on is trying to prioritize what I feel He is asking me to fight for … at the end of the day I want to represent the people well.
“I want God to be pleased with me and how I carry myself and I want to represent those values.”
