DURING THE 2012 OHIO LEGISLATURE REDISTRICTING PROCESS
SHE SAID:
"IT'S A GOOD THING STARK COUNTY HAS 3 CONGRESSMEN"
(EXCERPT FROM CHRISTINA HAGAN 16TH DISTRICT CAMPAIGN
Christina Hagan did not tell us at the time, but as she worked in the Ohio House of Representatives representing the 50th Ohio House District (a Stark County district), she likely was carving out an opportunity for herself to run for Congress in the "new" 16th Congressional District.
Apparently, she did not have enough clout in the process to spread the 16th a little more west (to her home in Marlboro Township) so as to include her residence in the 16th but rather in the 7th which was represented by incumbent Republican congressman Bob Gibbs.
Christina doesn't seem to have much political sense, but enough sense not to take on Gibbs.
The 16th was being vacated by incumbent Republican Congressman Jim Renacci to run for governor (March, 2017; which was going nowhere) and later for senator when Republican Ohio treasurer Josh Mandel dropped out unexpectedly.
"Aah!" Christina had to be saying to herself on Renacci's decision: "what a grand opportunity."
In early April, 2017 Hagan announced her run for the 16th. In doing so, she gave up the opportunity to run for one more two year term in the 50th before being term limited out.
If Christina was going to have any chance at all, she did the smart thing in announcing in April.
.
Apparently, the Republican deep thinkers in Washington figured early on that if Christina Hagan was the GOP's 2018 candidate for the 16th, they likely were providing Democrats with an excellent chance to take the 16th in the recent November 6th general election.
So lo and behold! in September of 2017, former Ohio State football star who went on to play professionally with the Indianapolis Colts comes out of California to relocate in Ohio to run for the 16th.
Christina Hagan had positioned herself as a primetime Donald J. Trump supporter and got a lot of media attention when he appeared at a Stark County fundraiser (Brookside Country Club) in September, 2016.
Later on in her Republican primary election run against Anthony Gonzalez she was forced to uproot her family and move in with relatives in Lake because of the heat that the Gonzalez campaign put on her.
So what had she accomplished?
Given up her 50th Ohio House seat and disrupted her family with a hurried move into Lake Township within the 16th and no chance whatsoever to defeat the pre-ordained National Republican choice for congress in Anthony Gonzalez.
The Timkens of Timken Steel et cetera were solidly behind Gonzalez as were the following elected Stark County Republicans appearing on Gonzalez social media in March, 2018, about six weeks, more or less, before the 2018 Republican Primary election, to wit:
What a blow! to Christina, no?
She had been some time in the fall of 2017 to see some of Stark County's Republican power brokers before the foregoing part of the Republican establishment came out for Gonzalez with the following messages:
- she was building a Hagan political juggernaut in Stark County with her father and brother Josh,
- she would raise $16 million for the Republican primary,
- after eliminating any opposition that might materialize for her in a Republican primary,
- she would raise an additional million or so for the November general election,
Again, the forgoing endorsements must have made Christina Hagan realize that there was no way she was going to be the Republican nominee for the November general election.
And she wasn't by a decisive margin:
And she wasn't by a decisive margin:
FATHER: JOHN P. HAGAN
To boot, her father (John, a Marlboro Township trustee) had lost his trustee position in November, 2017 re-election bid by just a few votes to fellow Republican trustee Ken Eddleman because former Republican trustee John Battershell had decided to run to once again become a Marlboro Township trustee.
John was elected to the 8th District position on the State Board of Education last Tuesday.
The Report is told by a Mahoning County politicians that John Hagan likely ran under the cover of the "Hagan" name knowing full well that Democrat Bob Hagan of Mahoning County (a voter registration wise critical part of the 8th along with Stark County) hoping to benefits in Mahoning by many of its voters thinking they were voting for Bob Hagan.
A Stark elected official familiar with John Hagan healthcare situation given as of January 1, 2018 and his having lost his Marlboro Township trustee position that he (a 63 year old) was no longer covered by government provided insurance as John Hagan's primary motivation for running for the state board of education position.
John Hagan was last in the Ohio House in 2008. Remember that House members and Senate members of the Ohio General Assembly (OGA) are term limited to eight consecutive years.
It seems that a few Republican member of the OGA (e.g. Stark County's Scott Oelslager and Kirk Schuring, now a combined 60 years in the OGA) have thwarted the "will of the people of Ohio" in trading back and forth House/Senate seats so as to exceed continuing in the eight year stretches.
Here is Hagan is supposed to said about "what he brings to the table" as a state board of education member according to a November 6, 2018 written by The Repository's Kelli Weir:
Hagan, who previously represented the 56th and 50th districts, campaigned on his ability to take the state school board’s message to the legislators.
You got to be kidding John Hagan!
The folks he knew in his stint in the Ohio House are mostly gone.
Moreover, anyone who knows John Hagan would never come away that he was a education issue guru.
For one thing, he dropped out of Kent State as a architectural student shortly after starting.
And, as a legislator, he never took an interest in education except to support legislatively the likes of Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT) which was recently adjudged to owe Ohio taxpayers $80 million for inaccurately reporting attendance of its students.
So the SCPR believes the "healthcare insurance" thing why John Hagan ran for the state board, which, of course, is a "selfish interest."
The Report sees Hagan as poorly equipped to contribute to the well being of education in Ohio and his statements suggesting the contrary is a cover for what appears to be "the real reason."
All of foregoing is interesting given Christina's touting of family religions values (LINK).
BROTHER JOSH HAGAN
A part of a Hagan political juggernaut?
What a laugh!
Republican Reggie Stoltzfus cut the Hagans off at the pass.
Stoltzfus is about as impressive as a first time candidate gets in terms of putting together a campaign.
However, it must be said that the 50th is a "highly" Republican-tilted" gerrymandered district.
His mistake was aligning too closely with former Ohio House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger who media reports says was at the time in the throes of being investigated by the FBI.
Elected last Tuesday, hopefully, Stoltzfus has learned his lesson and will more carefully vet who he aligns with politically.
In the 7th Congressional District, sitting Republican congressman Bob Gibbs was in the unfamiliar territory of having a serious, well-funded Democratic candidate in Ken Harbaugh from Avon, Ohio to contend with.
On November 6th, Gibbs retained his seat and Gonzalez easily bested his Democratic opponent Susan Moran Palmer.
BUT THOSE WINS TURNED OUT TO VIRTUALLY WORTHLESS BECAUSE THE DEMOCRATS IN A "BLUE WAVE" (EXCEPT FOR OHIO) FASHION TOOK CONTROL OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF JANUARY 1, 2018.
Now we come to the part of Hagan being "right, after all."
THE DEMOCRAT TIM RYAN FACTOR & OF BEING PUT BY REPUBLICANS INCLUDING CHRISTINA HAGAN IN A "GERRYMANDERED" DEMOCRATIC DISTRICT
BACK TO CHRISTINA HAGAN AND HER GERRYMANDERING ACTIVITIES
With Youngstown/Mahoning County Democrat Tim Ryan firmly ensconced in the 13th Congressional District which only has a tiny, tiny, tiny part of Stark County in it, "it is a good thing for Stark County overall interests" that Stark County is split up into three districts.
If there were only two districts (say the 7th and 16th with staunch Republicans holding those posts); now (evident by the numbers in last Tuesday's election) suddenly"solidly 'red' Republican Stark County elected officials and citizen have no power whatsoever to get Stark County interests met.
So yes, Christina. It is a good thing you helped do in 2012 in gerrymandering districts to marshal lopsided Republican numbers of voters in the 7th and 16th and lopsided Democratic numbers of voters in the 13th.
Otherwise, Stark County would have no avenue to get its needs met by the federal government.
Stark Countians should be thanking Christina and her Republican cohorts Scott Oelslager and Kirk Schuring in their flagrant gerrymandering for leaving an unintended "crack in the door" so that county interests at the federal level have an avenue to be heard.
Stark Countians should be calling Christina, Scott and Kirk and thanking them for constructing a glimmer of hope for Stark County's having a way to be effectively heard at the federal level of our democratic-republican form of government.
Back in 2012, here is what Christina Hagan was saying about redistricting:
“I think the process is fair. The process has been proven constitutional. We have this conversation every 10 years despite who’s in leadership. The opposition is always going to make slanderous comments. It doesn’t matter if it’s true or accurate. ... we have followed the constitution as it’s written. We’ve done our job. If (the Democrats are) in leadership, they’ll do their job.”
Another leading Stark County elected official (not Creighton, Harold, Revoldt or Held) recently sent a link to the SCPR to an editorial by the Warren, Ohio Tribune Chronicle endorsing Republican Christopher DePizzo (currently of Cuyahoga Falls, formerly of Youngstown). Here is a LINK to read the entire editorial.
It is however reassuring that Ryan even as a minority member has been able to get things done for the prime area of the 13th of Youngstown and Mahoning County, to wit: (from the Tribune Chronicle editorial)
It all sounds good, and we don’t deny Ryan has tried to work hard for our district ...
Had the sender of the Tribune Chronicle editorial to the SCPR had his way, Stark County would be stuck with three ineffective congressmen because the would be members of minority party in the U.S. House.
So thank you Christina, Scott and Kirk for keeping that sliver of hope alive for Stark Countians who need the help of the federal government.
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