Saturday, June 20, 2015
YOUNGSTOWN
Robert F. Hagan is resigning from the state board of education to take a lobbying job in Washington, D.C., said Mahoning County Democratic Party Chairman David Betras.
Betras said he recently spoke to Hagan, a former 28-year state legislator, about his sudden departure from the state board.
“He’s got a lobbying job in D.C. and can’t be on the school board,” Betras said.
Betras said he didn’t know specifics about the job or if Hagan is moving out of the state.
Six months into his first term on the board, Hagan submitted his resignation, effective July 1.
He is in Italy with family members until July 2.
Repeated attempts by The Vindicator on Thursday and Friday to contact Hagan were unsuccessful.
Hagan sent an email Thursday morning to a Vindicator reporter with a link to an article about Donald Trump hiring actors for his presidential announcement and wrote: “Theater of the absurd.”
After his resignation became public Thursday, Hagan wrote on Twitter: “I will be issuing a statement shortly. All good.”
Hagan, a Youngstown Democrat, couldn’t run last year for his Ohio House seat because of term limits. His wife, Michele Lepore-Hagan, succeeded him.
Lepore-Hagan said Friday her husband will make a statement about his new job, but she didn’t know when.
She declined to discuss it saying, “I don’t feel comfortable commenting on his situation. I’m not trying to be evasive. I’m happy for him; I’m excited for him. It’s something he’s always wanted to do.”
Lepore-Hagan said she will keep her seat in the Ohio House and will run for re-election next year.
Hagan was elected in a 13-county district to the state board of education. Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, will appoint a resident in the district to temporarily fill the vacancy sometime after Hagan’s resignation is official. There will be an election in November to fill the remainder of Hagan’s four-year term.
Hagan was elected to the Ohio House in 1986, spending 10 years there before moving to the state Senate, serving 10 years there as well. Hagan returned to the House, elected in 2006, serving eight years in his second stint in the lower chamber.