Twice-arrested Rep. Bob Young would disgrace the Ohio House by continuing to serve
It’s time for state Rep. Bob Young to resign from the Ohio House of Representatives.
The Republican from Green is now accused of breaking the law three separate times by hitting his wife, assaulting his brother and violating a protection order with three late Saturday night voicemail messages left for a relative he was not allowed to contact.
Prosecutors appear to hold strong evidence in all three cases — multiple witnesses in the first July 7 incident, doorbell video of the second just hours later and the recent voicemails.
It’s hard to imagine a scenario where Young is not convicted of at least one significant misdemeanor offense. Only a felony conviction would force him out of office.
The three phone calls also elevated Young’s poor behavior into a pattern of highly questionable conduct, shattering his earlier statement that blamed alcohol use for his first arrest and claimed his “noncriminal” behavior was “out of character.”
His second arrest Monday left him behind bars for two nights, appearing for court in an orange inmate outfit and a requirement to wear a GPS monitoring device upon his release from the Summit County Jail.
Public records obtained by the Akron Beacon Journal also reveal another woman reported being struck by Young at the same poolside party early July 7. No charge has been filed for her claim.
And a Summit County Sheriff's Office report states deputies were called to Young’s house in 2020 for a “physical domestic disturbance” after an early morning argument between Young and his wife. Young, with two visible scratches on his face, essentially refused to cooperate with a deputy and no charges were filed.
“Mr. Young refused to answer any questions, opting to smugly stare at the ground,” the deputy wrote.
The 2020 incident occurred before Young’s first election to the House, a race where he falsely accused an opponent of being “guilty” of domestic violence even though the man was never even charged with that crime. That claim that is now the subject of an ongoing defamation lawsuit against Young.
All of this is unacceptable for one of the 132 Ohioans with the power to enact laws across our state.
The privilege of representing people in state government comes with high expectations for conduct that we now know Young has failed to uphold since before his election.
Even Republican House Speaker Jason Stephens, who attended the party at Young’s house just before the first incident, called for the lawmaker’s resignation just hours after his original arrest.
It’s a request Young would be wise to accept to enable him to focus on overcoming whatever challenges exist in his personal life.
Continuing to serve in the people’s house would be an affront to every Ohioan.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Rep. Bob Young needs to resign from Ohio House after second arrest
