Art Magee will leave office with a blemish-free record

If you’ve spent more than three decades in public office in the Mahoning Valley and have not been the target of a criminal investigation, have not been accused of using your public position for personal gain and have avoided being inducted into the political hall of shame, you’ve done well.

Arthur U. Magee has done well — very well.

When Magee bids farewell to public service on Dec. 12, he will be able to say that he kept faith with the people who elected him to office, going all the way back to 1963.

His recent announcement that he will be resigning as mayor of Hubbard next month was not a total surprise, given his recent medical problems. But the decision does engender sadness — that a man who has been so much a part of the region’s political landscape will no longer be available to share his unvarnished, no-holds-barred opinions about all things public.

Indeed, Magee, who is serving his second stint as Hubbard’s mayor, has always been a favorite of journalists because of his honesty and his belief that government operates best under the spotlight of public scrutiny.

Magee, who broke his neck in a fall last summer, said the accident has prevented him from performing his duties as fully as he would like.

“I don’t want to go halfway,” he told a Vindicator reporter. He explained that the surgery, which left him in a brace, “has been tough on my family and myself.”

It is fitting that he ends his political career where he began, in Hubbard. He first served in city council from January 1964 to December 1965 and then was council president from January 1974 to June 1974 when he became mayor.

Challenges

Magee ran for Trumbull County commissioner in 1982, was elected and began serving in January 1983. For the next 15 years, he helped guide county government through some of its most challenging times.

Nonetheless, he remained steadfast in his belief that the taxpayers of the county deserved the very best government could offer.

Yes, Magee could be abrasive at times, and was not shy about speaking his mind. That is what endeared him to the press.

And, he was not easily intimidated.

One veteran reporter recalls a time when Magee clashed with then-Congressman James A. Traficant Jr., who was riding high politically.

Traficant had become the top officeholder in the Mahoning Valley and was not reluctant to throw his weight around. In so doing, he scared many politicians into doing his bidding.

The clash with Magee came over Traficant’s plan to create a regional economic development entity funded by a special tax that governments in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties would have had to ask residents to approve.

Magee took exception to Traficant’s bullying tactics, and in a closed-door meeting in an office at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport told the congressman to back off. The language was certainly not polite.

But that was how Magee conducted business. He was willing to compromise when necessary, but would not be dictated to by Traficant or anyone else.

Magee’s retirement next month will mark the end of a political career that should be an example for every young person considering a life in the public sector.