[4] He worked as an English teacher in Cleveland before seeking political office, winning a seat in the Ohio House of Representatives in 1977.

[7] On December 20, 1984, during Sawyer's first year as mayor, an explosion at the Akron Recycle Energy System plant caused the deaths of three people.

[10] He made national news with his study of the 1990 census and subsequent determination that it had failed to count at least two million black Americans.

[11] Sawyer and others attempted to readjust the census figures to include a more accurate count of black Americans and the U.S. population as a whole, but their efforts were opposed.

[11][12] When the Commerce Secretary Robert Mosbacher refused to adjust the census totals, Congressman Sawyer called the decision a "gerrymander on a national scale.

[15] On the House floor during this debate, Sawyer quoted Sir Thomas More in defense of Clinton and in condemnation of the Congressional impeachment proceedings.

[21][22] The new district most closely resembled the one recently vacated by U.S. Representative Jim Traficant, who had been convicted on corruption charges and sent to federal prison.

[18] Despite maintaining high pro-union ratings throughout his career, Sawyer's vote for NAFTA is often credited at the reason Tim Ryan defeated the 8-term Congressman.

However, former State Representative Betty Sutton won an 8-way primary and went on to win the general election with support from national Democrats and EMILY's List.

[24] When Akron-based State Senator Kim Zurz was appointed to run the Ohio Department of Commerce in Spring of 2007, Sawyer was selected by legislative leaders to fill the vacancy.

[28] During the 130th and 131st General Assemblies, Sawyer jointly sponsored resolutions with Republican Senator Frank LaRose to reform the drawing of legislative district lines in Ohio.

[37][38][39][40] In the November 2008 general election, Sawyer held his Senate seat by defeating Republican James Carr.