Ohio official with ties to Valley quits after tax woes are revealed

By MARK NIQUETTE

Barbash will return to his previous state job at a salary of $128,356.

COLUMBUS — The Ohio Department of Development has its third leader in three months after interim director Mark Barbash stepped down Friday in the wake of a disclosure that he owes more than $150,000 in federal and state taxes.

Gov. Ted Strickland appointed Lisa Patt-McDaniel, 44, who is the director of the department’s work force and talent division, to replace Barbash starting Monday.

Barbash, 60, a Cortland native, will return to his previous state job as chief economic development officer. He had been tapped as interim director after Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher stepped down in February as development director to run for the U.S. Senate.

Strickland named Barbash, the former Columbus development director, to replace Fisher shortly before a state tax lien for $12,462 was filed against Barbash, court records show.

The IRS also filed two tax liens against Barbash last month totaling more than $146,000 in taxes, interest and penalties from assessments dating to 2000, and a foreclosure action was filed last week involving his Bexley home.

According to other public records, Barbash also had a state tax lien in 1995 of $4,792 that was settled, as well as a 2004 judgment of $1,225 involving the city of Bexley that was paid in 2005.

Strickland spokeswoman Amanda Wurst said Barbash disclosed his situation with the IRS to the development department when he was hired by the agency in 2007. She said he verbally informed the governor’s office when he became interim director.

The governor was not personally told until this week, Wurst said.

“Mark assured us at the time that he was working to resolve the situation, and he continues to do so,” she said.

In a statement, Strickland said he thinks Barbash is “making the right decision for his family and the department. He has worked to create Ohio jobs for more than two decades, and I know that he will continue to serve the people of Ohio well.”

Ohio Republican Chairman Kevin DeWine called the hiring of Barbash “a serious lapse in judgment by the Strickland administration.”

Wurst said: “There have been no indications that his personal financial matters had any impact on his job performance.”

Barbash, who is retaining his salary of $128,356 — “highest in the department” — declined to discuss his situation yesterday other than to say he has been working on a variety of issues for a number of years.

In a statement, Barbash said he is taking a month of accrued paid leave “to straighten out some personal financial matters,” and that he has been working with the IRS on issues involving the refiling of personal tax returns.

“In fairness to the important efforts of our department, our dedicated staff, and the citizens of Ohio, I do not want the distraction of my personal financial matters to get in the way of moving forward with our work,” Barbash said. “I take full responsibility for what I believe are fundamentally personal matters that require my full attention at this time.”

Patt-McDaniel began her career with the state in 1987 and has been with the development department since 1990. She will continue to earn her current salary of $88,379 as interim director.

mniquette@dispatch.com