Former Hamilton County Auditor Brigid Kelly dies; 'Dedicated her career to service'

Former Hamilton County Auditor Brigid Kelly, who served her community with kindness, integrity and a signature pop of kelly green, died of esophageal cancer Tuesday, her family confirmed. She was 40.

Within minutes of Kelly announcing she was resigning to focus on her health last week, local social media feeds seemingly turned green.

Kelly was seldom seen in public without her signature Kelly green clothing, and friends and colleagues were posting pictures of themselves with her and sharing stories that expressed admiration for her positive attitude, the work she did in her career bolstering unions, and for her accomplishments as county auditor, state representative and a Norwood councilwoman.

Most of the posts included a green heart emoji.

Kelly's family released the following statement: "We sadly report that our dear one, Brigid Kelly, passed on Tuesday evening at her home.  She was surrounded by love and peace after waging a 2 year battle with cancer. Brigid’s failing health necessitated her recent resignation as Hamilton County Auditor. She was a treasured wife, daughter and sister, a valued friend and a true public servant."

Funeral services are pending.

Kelly was diagnosed two years ago after initially having her symptoms misdiagnosed by medical professionals. She didn't talk much publicly about her health, saying she wanted the focus to remain on her work.

After her resignation, Hamilton County Commissioner Denise Driehaus wrote: "I have known Brigid Kelly for decades. Her entire adult life has been about fighting for what she believes in: dignity for others, fairness, and justice.

Wrote Ohio Democratic Party Chairwoman Elizabeth Walters: "Brigid Kelly has dedicated her career to service: to her community, the labor movement, and our party. I’m lucky to have come up alongside her in this work. Brigid is smart, funny, passionate, and has one of the best bullshit detectors I’ve ever seen."

Former Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper wrote: "Brigid Kelly isn't just one of the brightest and most positive people I've known in public service, she's one of the brightest and most positive human beings I've known in life."

Politics with positivity

Kelly was born and raised in Norwood, the daughter of Bob Kelly and Martha Tepe Kelly. Her grandfather, R. Edward Tepe, was mayor of Norwood in the 1950s. Her father, Bob Kelly, was a long-time elected official in Norwood.

Kelly attended Saint Ursula Academy. She went on to earn a bachelor's degree from Xavier University and master's degree from the University of Cincinnati.

She ran and won a seat on Norwood City Council in 2006 just after graduating from college.

Kelly majored studied entrepreneurship and marketing, not political science like so many of her friends. But she helped resurrect Xavier's Democratic Club and worked on political campaigns, local and presidential.

Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Pavan Parikh was a classmate of Kelly's and worked alongside her.

"Back then Ohio was a battleground state," Parikh said. "Candidates came through. We had a Rock the Vote event."

"She was always just a pure ball of energy," Parikh said. "She exudes the values of kindness and hard work and empathy."

Parikh said he and Kelly were thrilled to be reunited as elected county officials and had plans to work together to make Hamilton County government the best it could be for many years to come. It's been difficult knowing these last weeks and months that dream would never be fulfilled, he said.

Becky Cull, a college classmate, longtime friend and general counsel at Xavier University, said Kelly didn't need to study political science because Kelly saw elected office as a way to help people and it came naturally to her.

"She didn’t need to study it, she just did it," Cull said. "She accomplished as much in 40 years as any of us could hope to accomplish in our whole life."

Norwood City Council on Tuesday night honored Kelly with a 12-point resolution. Among its points: "Kelly is widely known as a leader who conducts herself with kindness, perseverance, and most importantly, integrity, enriching the lives of those fortunate enough to know and work with her."

After college, Kelly worked for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, where she'd go on to work for more than a decade.

Kelly ran for state representative in 2016 and won, replacing Driehaus.

As a state representative, Kelly worked across the political aisle. "We should be kind to one another," Kelly said in a floor speech. "We have some serious disagreements and differences in perspective, but you really never know what someone else is going through and you should never dismiss the possibility of working together on the issues about which you agree just because you disagree on so many others."

Kelly advocated for a $15 minimum wage, age-appropriate instruction to prevent child sexual abuse and eliminating subminimum wage for individuals with developmental disabilities.

Kelly championed legislation that eliminated the Ohio sales tax on menstrual hygiene products, commonly known as the "pink tax." She was passionate about the subject, saying women should not have to pay sales tax on medically necessary products.

She also worked on legalizing sports betting. On a less serious cause – but something that grabbed a lot of attention − she was a proponent of designating the sugar cookie as the state's official cookie. That didn't come to be.

A vote against Larry Householder: 'She stuck to her guns'

Kelly ascended to the House minority whip, but she lost her leadership role in early 2019 when she refused to support Republican Larry Householder for Ohio House speaker. She went against a majority of House Democrats and their union backers. Householder won, thanks to Democrats, and Kelly was sidelined.

In the end, Kelly was right about Householder. The Republican speaker would later be convicted of federal corruption charges in a sweeping bribery scandal, and he was sentenced to spend 20 years in prison.

Former Democrat Hamilton County Auditor Dusty Rhodes said that vote was impressive because Kelly faced pressure from her own party and union leadership, which had cut a deal to support Householder for House speaker.

"She said I won’t do it and took the hit," Rhodes said. "She stuck to her guns."

'A loss for the county'

Rhodes had worked on consumer protection legislation with Kelly. He mentored Kelly for a year and a half before she became county auditor.

"She had integrity," Rhodes said. "In the auditor's office that is important. Besides the loss of our friend, it is a loss for the county."

Longtime Hamilton County Democratic Party Chairman Tim Burke, who retired in 2018, helped Kelly campaign for the Norwood council seat and watched her grow into a political force.

"I was delighted to see a Xavier graduate move into elected office," Burke said. Burke said Bob Kelly could be prickly at times, but Brigid Kelly came to politics with positivity and kindness.

"She did take after her dad for being a real fighter and doing what she thought was right though," Burke said, noting her vote against Householder. "She was a gutsy young lady."

In her final days at the Ohio Statehouse, Kelly shared a quote from St. Angela Merici, the founder of her alma mater Saint Ursula Academy: "Never cease to cultivate this vine that has been entrusted to you.”

“That quote and what I believe it means, do the most good for the greatest number of people, is something that I’ve really tried to keep at the center of our work here in the Statehouse,” Kelly said.

Those she left behind say Kelly did just that: the most good for the greatest number of people in Hamilton County and Ohio.

Kelly is survived by her husband, Steve Culter of Sycamore Township; mother, Martha Tepe, of Norwood; father, Robert Kelly, of Sycamore Township; Brother, Ned Kelly (Heather), of Norwood; and brother Greg Kelly (Oluwafisayo), of East Price Hill.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Brigid Kelly, former Hamilton County Auditor, died Tuesday