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Despite neck injury, Hubbard mayor keeps up with the business at hand
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Hubbard Mayor Arthur U. Magee conducts mayor’s court Monday with assistance from Hubbard Police Sgt. David Oaks. The mayor is wearing a halo after breaking vertebrae in his neck. The mayor said he tried staying home but feels he’s better off doing something.
The 72-year-old said one of his biggest challenges is getting sleep.
HUBBARD — Mayor Arthur U. Magee gives new meaning to the phrase “government service.”
On June 27 in the city, the mayor stumbled on what he called a “shag in the sidewalk.”
“Over I went,” he said, adding that he didn’t just fall but went into a mailbox as well.
Magee broke the second and third vertebrae in his neck and has to wear a metal halo and accompanying harness on his chest for about 90 days.
That hasn’t stopped him from attending to his mayoral duties, including mayor’s court. He’s presided at three sessions since his accident.
“I’m not trying to be a macho man. I just want to give the people good service and good representation,” Magee said. “I love my job.”
He tried staying home for about 21‚Ñ2 weeks.
“I couldn’t sit still,” he said.
He said his wife, Rachel, would prefer he be at home and “sit on the back porch” as he recuperates. But anyone who is acquainted with Magee knows that even this situation won’t get him down. The 72-year-old mayor has been involved in politics since he was 13.
“I delivered fliers from the back of a pickup truck for Gov. Frank Lausche,” he recalled. “I’ve always been interested in government.”
Magee served as mayor in Hubbard from 1974-83 and was a Trumbull County commissioner for 16 years. He’s now in his sixth year as mayor of Hubbard.
“I’m better off here ... with something to do,” Magee said. “I’m not happy about the way I feel, but I’m getting along.”
Magee said he is going to physical therapy three times a week.
“Even in therapy, they’ve had debates about me being here,” he said.
He isn’t putting in his usual hours, but is at his office a few hours a day at the city administration building.
Magee said one of the biggest challenges is getting sleep.
“I had 25 minutes of good sleep the other day,” he said, noting that finding the right position is key. But that’s often difficult, and he finds it hard to go to doze off.
“It’s hard to get comfortable.”
At mayor’s court Monday, Magee dealt with defendants who have been cited for traffic and ordinance violations. He said he joked about wearing the halo at the first court session but now doesn’t mention it. And those in court followed his lead.
“I think everyone has seen people in these,” he said.
The mother of one of the defendants, a massage therapist, spoke with the mayor after court and wished him well, sharing a bit about her own medical condition. She thanked the mayor for how he handled her son’s case and the advice he gave her son about adhering to the law.
Magee said he follows the law and only recently attended a continuing-education course for mayors conducting court.
“If we can help you, we will,” he said of what he calls family court.
He also made it clear the law is to be upheld, but he listens to the people about their situations.
One defendant told the mayor after they spoke, “You won’t see me back here. ... Take care.” To which the mayor responded, “We’re square.”
Hubbard Police Sgt. David Oaks and Patrolman Ted Thirion assisted the mayor at court this week.
“I think it’s phenomenal that he’s here,” Thirion said.
“He weighed the options and took what action he thought fit,” said Oaks.
He added that people don’t really react to the mayor’s halo.
Magee said the city’s administrative staff is “a tremendous help.”
And his family is helping him through the medical challenge. He gets a ride to and from work.
linonis@vindy.com