Bob Hagan
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Robert F. Hagan (born March 31, 1949) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who held a seat in the
Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...
for the 58th District from 2007 to 2014. He represented the same seat from 1987 to 1997, and served in the
Ohio Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of t ...
from 1997 to 2006. In 2014, he began work for the
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) is a trade union, labor union founded in Marshall, Michigan, on 8 May 1863 as the Brotherhood of the Footboard. It was the first permanent trade organization for railroad workers in the ...
governmental affairs team.


Early life, family and education

Hagan was born and raised in
Youngstown Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...
,
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
. He attended Ursuline High School. His father, Robert E. Hagan, was also involved in politics. His brother, Tim Hagan, served for many years as a county commissioner in
Cuyahoga County, Ohio Cuyahoga County ( or , see ) is a large urban County (United States), county located in the Northeast Ohio, northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. The county seat and most populous city is Cleveland. As of the 2020 United States census, ...
and was the 2002 Democratic nominee for
Governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...
. Before entering electoral politics, Hagan worked for 15 years as a locomotive engineer for
CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of trac ...
Transportation.


Career


First Ohio House of Representatives sitting

In 1986, he was elected to a seat in the Ohio House of Representatives, representing the 53rd Ohio House district, centered on
Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...
. At the time, his father, Robert E. Hagan, was also serving in the House. Between 1986 and 1990, the Hagans were the first father and son to simultaneously hold seats in the Ohio House of Representatives. Hagan served in the House for ten years.


Ohio Senate

When incumbent Joseph Vukovich was appointed to a judiciary position in 1997, Hagan was chosen to succeed him in the Ohio Senate. He was appointed to the State Senate on February 12, 1997, to represent the 33rd district in northeastern
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
, centered on the city of Youngstown. During his time in there, he was chosen by the Senate Democratic caucus to serve as assistant
minority whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline (that members of the party vote according to the party platform rather than their constituents, individual conscience or donors) in a legislature. Whips ...
in the 126th
Ohio General Assembly The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate. Both houses of the General Assembly meet at the Ohio Statehouse in Colu ...
; however, he stepped down from his leadership post when he entered the election for State Representative. In 2005, Hagan ran for mayor of Youngstown, hoping to replace outgoing mayor George McKelvey. Although initially favored to win, he was soundly defeated by independent candidate Jay Williams. A strong proponent of progressive policies, Hagan occasionally uses
satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...
to attempt to make a point. In February 2006, he placed a spoof request for co-sponsors for a fictional piece of legislation called the "Republican Adoption Ban of 2006." The bill was meant as a response to HB 515, which was a ban on adoption by
homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...
or
bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...
people or couples, and in presenting the fake legislation Hagan cited so-called "credible research" indicating that children in Republican households had a host of emotional problems. In April 2010, Bob Hagan co-sponsored a measure to legalize marijuana in Ohio.


Second Ohio House of Representatives sitting

Unsuccessful in his bid for Mayor of Youngstown, Hagan sought to return to Ohio House of Representatives to succeed term limited Sylvester "Sly" Patton. Against six others for the nomination, Hagan won the primary with 37.59% of the vote. He won the general election with 58.08% of the vote against Republican John Johnson. Hagan, in 2008, won reelection with 84.9% of the vote again Republican Timothy Gordon. Facing primary opposition for a third term in 2010, Hagan defeated Don Hanni with 70.59% of the vote for the nomination. He won the general election with 81.23% of the vote over Republican Daniel Thimons. For the 129th General Assembly, Hagan served on the committees of Commerce and Labor; Health and Aging; and Transportation, Public Safety and Homeland Security. He also served on the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission. Hagan won a final term in 2012 unopposed, and was term-limited in 2014. He was succeeded by his wife Michele Lepore-Hagan.


2016 U.S. Senate election

On April 17, 2013, Hagan announced his candidacy for the United States Senate seat currently occupied by Republican
Rob Portman Robert Jones Portman (born December 19, 1955) is an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Ohio from 2011 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Portman was the 35th director of the Office of Management ...
. He cited Portman's vote against background checks as his motive for challenging the freshman senator.


Policies and initiatives


Collective bargaining

With the city of
Youngstown Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...
being majorly pro-labor, Hagan had been against a bill that looks to limit
collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and labour rights, rights for ...
for public employees. While it was virtually inevitable that the bill will pass into law, Hagan vowed to lead an effort to overthrow it via a
referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...
. A member of the committee hearing the bill, Hagan presented his colleagues with 65,000
petitions A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an officia ...
from individuals opposing the bill, which were ordered removed from the room by chairman Joe Uecker. Hagan has cited a considerable amount of
secrecy Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controver ...
and partisanship surrounding the legislation. He has called the bill simply a bust to unions. The bill ultimately passed the entire legislature.


Governor recall

Building off his opposition to S.B. 5, Hagan introduced legislation with Michael Foley that would allow voters to recall the governor, other statewide officeholders and members of the
General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...
. They stated that the measure was initiated by
John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician and author who was the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001, and a Republican candidate for the pre ...
's low approval ratings and the outcry that occurred after S.B. 5.


Environmental issues

A staunch liberal, Hagan is against measures that would allow drilling for oil and
natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
in Ohio
state parks State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...
. In debate on the bill, which went on to pass the
Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...
, he went on to question whether Republicans who supported the measure were on drugs. Hagan has also sought to fight gasoline prices through legislation to create the Ohio Gasoline Price Oversight Commission. Along with Ron Gerberry, Hagan hopes to help fight rising gasoline prices. "This legislation is a direct response to the sacrifice our constituents are making at the pumps," Rep. Hagan said.


Other

On October 22, 2012, Hagan introduced a bill in the Ohio House that would prohibit any team playing in publicly financed stadiums or arenas from blacking out games. A violation would result in the team repaying its public funding.


Controversies

In 2010, Hagan was assaulted at the Lemon Grove, a bar located in Youngstown, Ohio. He was punched in the face after a verbal altercation with a fellow customer, and was treated with several stitches at a local hospital after regaining consciousness. On January 20, 2011 it was reported that Hagan had referred to someone during an online debate on
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
as a "buckwheat", a word that some consider to have racist connotations. It was not directed at Thomas. Hagan said "buckwheat" was a term he had been using "since he was a kid" and that it no longer carried racial connotation for him. On April 27, 2012, Hagan was uninvited to speak at the graduation ceremony of Mercy College School of Nursing at the request of Bishop George Murry, S.J. of Youngstown, just four days before the graduation was to take place. Bishop Murry cited stance on abortion as the reasons for his decision. On April 21, 2022, Hagan stated on Twitter that he had a photo of
Michael Rulli Michael Anthony Rulli (born March 11, 1969) is an American politician, musician and businessman serving as the U.S. representative for Ohio's 6th congressional district since 2024. He previously served as an Ohio State Senator for the 33rd di ...
engaging in sexual relations with former President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
. On April 28, 2022, Hagan used disparaging comments on the social media platform
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
, including referring to them as "right-wing troglodytes." His tweet went on to claim that Republicans "jerk off to
Mein Kampf (; ) is a 1925 Autobiography, autobiographical manifesto by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The book outlines many of Political views of Adolf Hitler, Hitler's political beliefs, his political ideology and future plans for Nazi Germany, Ge ...
" On August 28, 2022, a Hagan for State Senate sign was found burnt in Youngstown's Wick Park neighborhood. In response, Hagan blamed "extremist cowards" for the act of vandalism, stating "This is emblematic of the violent anarchy of the Republican ruling class.". In response, his opponent, Senator Rulli, denied involvement, alleging the act was an "inside job" by the Hagan campaign and offered a $5,000 reward to anyone who could provide video evidence of who burnt the sign. On September 15, 2022, Senator Rulli alleged that Hagan had entered his family's grocery store, Rulli Brothers, and harassed customers on September 12. Hagan denied these allegations, stating that the man in the security camera footage was not him and accused Rulli of "endangering isfamily" and "inciting violence" against him. On September 30, Hagan filed a cease-and-desist order to remove the video from social media and provided evidence that he was at home during the alleged incident.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hagan, Bob Living people Politicians from Youngstown, Ohio Hagan family Democratic Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Ohio General Assembly 1949 births