Dave Hobson

David Lee Hobson (born October 17, 1936) is an American politician of the Republican Party who served as a U.S. representative from the seventh congressional district of Ohio. He currently serves as the president of Vorys Advisors LLC an affiliate of the law firm Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease.

Hobson was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and graduated from Withrow High School in 1954. He received a bachelor of arts degree from Ohio Wesleyan University (Delaware, Ohio) in 1958 and a law degree from Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio) in 1963. He served in the Ohio Air National Guard from 1958 to 1963. Hobson served as an Ohio state senator from 1982 to 1990, serving as President of the Ohio Senate from 1988 to 1990.

In 1990, after Mike DeWine left his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives to become Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, Hobson was elected to replace him. It was the second time Hobson had succeeded DeWine; he'd followed DeWine into the Ohio Senate. Hobson began serving in the House in 1991 (102nd Congress), and was reelected eight times without serious difficulty. Hobson was the assistant majority whip for the 110th Congress. Hobson is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership and is considered to be a moderate Republican.

As a congressman, some of Hobson's primary concerns were improving health care, controlling government spending and balancing the budget, and strengthening national security. Hobson also believed that Congress must help to stimulate the economies of former industrial towns who have seen factories leave.

In October 2006, the Wall Street Journal reported that Hobson led a delegation to Normandy, France in August 2004 for the groundbreaking of an "interpretive center" at a cemetery for American soldiers killed during World War II. During the seven-day trip, the delegation was feted with at least two private restaurant dinners, one given by Northrop and another by the PMA Group, a leading lobbyist for defense companies. On a 2005 trip to visit nuclear-fuel processing plants in France, Hobson and his delegation attended a dinner near Avignon, in southern France, hosted by Areva SA, the world's largest maker of nuclear reactors. The free meals no doubt violated House rules and possibly federal law, experts on congressional ethics say. House rules prohibit members from accepting any gifts worth $50 or more.

On October 14, 2007, Hobson announced that he would step down at the end of his term in 2009.

Committee assignments

• Appropriations Committee
  • Subcommittee on Defense
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development (Ranking Member)

• Scot J. Paltrow, "On Overseas Trips, Congress's Rules Are Often Ignored", Wall Street Journal, October 27, 2006
• Jessica Wehrman, "Rep. Hobson to retire at end of current term", Dayton Daily News, October 14, 2007