[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 8481-8482]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      REMEMBERING EUGENE RUEHLMANN

  Mr. PORTMAN. Madam President, today I wish to remember Eugene 
Ruehlmann, former mayor of Cincinnati, OH, for his leadership, his 
visions, and his dedication to his community and for his distinguished 
career in law and public service. Mr. Ruehlmann passed away at the age 
of 88 on June 8, 2013.
  A native Cincinnatian, Mr. Ruehlmann's talents were recognized early 
on when he was voted ``Boy Mayor of Cincinnati'' in 1942 as a teenager. 
His public service career officially took off years later after he 
served our Nation in the U.S. Marine Corps in World War II, earned 
degrees from the University of Cincinnati and Harvard Law School and 
launched a successful law practice. Ultimately, Mr. Ruehlmann served 12 
years on the Cincinnati City Council beginning in 1959 and served as 
the mayor of Cincinnati from 1967-1971.
  Known as a ``Clean Gene'' for his principled leadership and legendary 
integrity, Mr. Ruehlmann was instrumental in advancing Cincinnati as a 
major league city. His leadership included guiding the early 
transformation of downtown Cincinnati with the development of the new 
Fountain Square Plaza, Riverfront Stadium, the establishment of an NFL 
team, the Cincinnati Bengals, and constructing Cincinnati's Convention 
Center.
  Following the race riots in 1967, Mr. Ruehlmann worked to heal the 
city. He reformulated the city's Human Relations Commission, and 
founded the Mayor's Housing Coordinating Committee and the city's 
Project Commitment.
  He has given his time to numerous charitable and community 
organizations, such as Children's Hospital, Children's Hospital Medical 
Center, Greater Cincinnati Foundation, the Work and Rehabilitation 
Center, March of Dimes and the National Conference of Christians and 
Jews.
  Mr. Ruehlmann was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University 
of Cincinnati in 2011. In 1998, he was named a Great Living 
Cincinnatian by the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce for his 
lifetime of service and leadership. In 1970, the Urban League of 
Cincinnati honored him with a special award for Outstanding Achievement 
in Public Service.
  He built a successful law practice as founder of the Strauss, Troy 
and Ruehlmann law firm, as a partner with Vorys, Sater, Seymour and 
Pease in Cincinnati, and as a director on the Board of the Center for 
Resolution of Disputes.
  In all these years, and with all these accomplishments, he remained a 
devoted family man. He and his late wife, Virginia, were married for 61 
years and raised 8 children, 25 grandchildren and 11 great-
grandchildren.

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  Mr. President, I would like to honor Eugene Ruehlmann for his 
dedication to the City of Cincinnati, to his community and to his 
family.

                          ____________________