Robert Hagan, the Democratic candidate for reelection to the 33rd District seat in the Ohio Senate today called on Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted to choose between serving his corporate masters or the people of Ohio. “Husted must immediately resign from Heartland Bank’s board of directors or from the office of Lieutenant Governor,” Hagan said after learning that Husted accepted a paid position on the Heartland’s board earlier this year. “As the First Energy/House Bill 6 scandal made extremely clear, Ohioans pay the price when elected officials climb into bed with their corporate contributors.”
According to a cleveland.com report, Husted, who failed to disclose he was appointed to Heartland’s board on March 22, 2022, will not reveal how much he is being paid until he files a state-mandated ethics report next year.
“If everything is above board, why all the secrecy?” Hagan asked. “I think the people have a right to know why he was offered the position, why he accepted it, how much he will earn, and whether the public will be informed of every vote he casts and action he takes as a member of the board. First Energy’s corporate board room was ground zero of Republican corruption in the state. Are we headed for a repeat performance?”
Hagan said Husted’s statement that he consulted with a lawyer before accepting the position is meaningless. “Trump consulted with a bunch of lawyers, including Rudy Giuliani, Sydney Powell, and John Eastman, before he incited the January 6 insurrection,” Hagan noted. “So, just because a lawyer says a particular act is legal or ethical doesn’t make it so.”
Hagan also questioned why Husted, who earns $176,300 per year as director of InnovateOhio would need to accept a paid position from a campaign contributor that does business with the state. “Husted already earns three times more than the median income in Ohio, but I guess he’s hurting a bit since the First Energy dark money spigot has been turned off,” Hagan said.
“Bottom line, I think Jon needs to decide whether he wants to work for a billion-dollar bank or take care of the people’s business,” Hagan said. I just don’t think it’s ethical or possible to do both. I do believe, however, that he now has an obligation to account for every minute he devotes to his state job and all the time he spends shilling for Heartland, which is exactly what he’ll be doing because, as the bank stated in a press release, they appointed him to the board to take advantage of his relationships as they ‘grow their franchise’ in Ohio. That statement alone raises lots of red flags.”
Hagan concluded by pledging to introduce legislation to bar high ranking state officials from accepting paid positions on corporate boards and implement tougher disclosure requirements. “Sunshine is the only thing that will rid the state of the stench of Republican corruption and reform is the only way to tear the GOP’s for sale sign off the Statehouse,” he said. “Because as Husted’s arrogance and greed demonstrates, he and the other members of his party who fueled the First Energy scandal will never clean up the mess they have made.”