Kyle Koehler is the Representative for the 79th district of the Ohio House of Representatives. Koehler was born and raised in Springfield, Ohio, attended Springfield's Catholic Central High School and then Wright State University. He and his family own a small business in Springfield. In 2014, Koehler opted to make his first run for elected office, and decided to run for the Ohio House of Representatives to replace Ross McGregor who was term-limited. He faced Democrat Darryl Jackson in a competitive seat. Koehler went on to defeat Jackson 61%-39%. In 2016, Koehler faced a challenge from Democrat Alex Wendt in a highly competitive race. Koehler won re-election in another 61%-39% victory. In 2018, Koehler faced a challenge from Democrat Amanda Finfrock in another highly competitive race. There was an attempt to influence the race by outside sources tied to payday lending industry. Koehler won the 2018 general election by 19% in a 59.5%-40.5% victory. Representative Koehler has won each of his general elections in 2014, 2016 and 2018 by margins of 22%, 22% and 19% points respectively in a district that is considered a 50-50 district for Presidential Elections. In 2018, Representative Koehler passed a bill bringing major reform to the payday lending industry in Ohio. As the 133rd General Assembly began in 2019, Representative Koehler was named Chairman of the Ohio House Agriculture and Rural Development Committee
Career
Kyle Koehler received his bachelor's degree from Wright State University in computer science. He spent seven years leading teams developing classified software surrounding signal analysis and data acquisition for government contractors. Along with his duties in the House, Koehler is Vice President of K.K. Tool Co. Inc. His responsibilities cover all aspects of Design and Development
Marriage and family life
Kyle Koehler married Kathrin Koehler in July 1988. Kathrin Koehler, who is a licensed psychologist in the State of Ohio, worked as an independent counselor until taking a break to home educate their five children starting in 1999. The Koehlers have five children ranging in ages from 17-25.
Payday Lending
Representative Koehler, along with Rep. Mike Ashford, spent the 132nd General Assembly fighting to bring reform to the payday lending industry in Ohio. Fighting for well over 13 months for movement on House Bill 123, Koehler successfully moved the bill out of Government Accountability and Oversight in April 2018. The Ohio House passed the bill on June 7 with a 71-17 bipartisan vote. The bill spent four weeks in the Ohio Senate, where Senate Finance Chair, Scott Oelslager introduced Substitute House Bill 123. The Substitute House Bill, kept the structure of the original bill introduced by Reps Koehler and Ashford; but made adjustments to the fees and loan limits. Senate Finance and the full Senate passed SUB HB123 on July 10. The Ohio House concurred on the Senate changes on July 24 after a furious floor debate. Governor John Kasich signed the bill six days later on July 30. The 15 month fight over payday lending has been closely tied to the resignation of former Speaker of the Ohio House, Cliff Rosenberger and possible attempts to stall the legislation.
Committees
Rep. Koehler has been named Chairman of the Ohio House Agriculture and Rural Development Committee for the 133rd General Assembly. This will be his third term serving on this committee. He is also returning for his third term to the Ohio House Primary and Secondary Education Committee. For the 2nd term in a row, Chairman Koehler will also serve on the Federalism Committee which saw a number of gun rights/regulation bills in the 132nd General Assembly. In the 132nd General Assembly, Koehler served as Vice-Chair of Agriculture and Rural Development as well as on Education & Career Readiness. He was assigned to the newly formed Federalism & Interstate Relations Committee that focused on State's Rights issues including a number of gun bills. In his first term in the 131st General Assembly, Representative Koehler served on the following committees: Agriculture and Rural Development, Economic & Workforce Development, and Education. Koehler served on the Straight-A-Fund Governing Board as one of three appointed legislators on the eight member board. Representative Koehler was appointed to the 21 member board of the Ohio Family Stability Commission. As the Chair of the Ohio House Agriculture Committee, Koehler also was automatically appointed to the Ohio Expo Commission.
