Mrs. Hagan bites hand that fed her

It has been an inauspicious beginning for Michele Lepore-Hagan as the state representative from Youngstown. First, Lepore-Hagan, a Democrat, got embroiled in a he said-she said with Republican Gov. John Kasich that, not surprisingly, prompted her husband, former state Rep. Robert F. Hagan, to put in his 2 cents worth.

Hagan’s Twitter attack on the governor simply served to confirm this writer’s belief that like many egocentric politicians from this area, “Bobby” just can’t let go.

That’s bad news for his wife, whose candidacy for the seat vacated by her husband didn’t exactly blaze the political trail. Indeed, Lepore-Hagan was criticized by her opponents for parroting many of Hagan’s positions on the important issues of the day. In addition, her employment at Youngstown State University became a point of contention because she had indicated early on that she wanted to remain on YSU’s payroll while pulling down $60,584 as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives.

Double-dipping

Such double-dipping has long given private sector taxpayers convulsions.

Before dealing with her meltdown over her separation from YSU, let’s discuss her brief exchange — a political molehill, if ever there was one — with Gov. Kasich that was made into a mountain by the has-been (sorry, husband).

According to Lepore-Hagan, she was at a gathering of state government officials in Columbus when she had a chance to say hello to the governor. The legislator from Youngstown claims that Kasich brought up the issue of the city’s failing school system and suggested that turning the schools into charters may be the answer. (The governor’s spokesman denied that Kasich proposed any such privatization plan.)

Of course, Lepore-Hagan immediately reported the exchange to the person she has replaced in the Legislature — and true to form, he took to Twitter and claimed that the Republican governor was going to turn over the Youngstown City School District to the charter school industry.

The underlying message was clear: Kasich and the GOP-dominated General Assembly are determined to dismantle the public school system in Ohio so as to reward their pals who operate charter schools.

Hagan’s post triggered a debate locally, but it also elicited a denial from the Kasich’s office.

Indeed, as a result of the controversy, The Vindicator was obliged to publish an editorial setting the record straight — as to where the governor got the idea of turning the failing schools in Youngstown into charters (under the direction of the state.)

Suffice it to say that it wasn’t Kasich who said he was ready to take over the academically challenged school district and hand it to a charter operator.

Thus, when he talked to Lepore-Hagan, he wasn’t suggesting that a transformation was imminent.

But the moment she whispered in her husband’s ear, the freshman lawmaker lost control of the issue. And that’s a problem she must address sooner rather than later.

It is instructive that her broadside against Youngstown State University for not finding a way to keep her on the payroll has all the markings of the former lawmaker’s conspiratorial nature.

It was Hagan who called this writer to complain about his wife no longer being on YSU’s payroll and suggesting that it was a reflection of the administration’s campaign against women.

Of course, Lepore-Hagan reiterated what he was spouting.

Cushy job

Let it be known that while she had the cushy job of director of YSU’s Performing Arts Series, she never once publicly complained about how she was being mistreated because she’s a woman. She was appointed to the position in 2001.

The fact of the matter is that Lepore-Hagan was earning $47,089 annually for a 32-hour work week. During her tenure, she was an unabashed supporter of the university.

But now that she must live on just one public salary, YSU is nothing more than a cauldron of male chauvinism.

It’s unseemly for a state legislator to be crying the blues because she isn’t able to slop at two public troughs. It’s a matter of credibility — especially given the fact that the median income of a family of four living in the city of Youngstown is $24,000.

This writer did not support Lepore-Hagan when she ran for the seat occupied by her husband. That decision now appears prescient.