Candidate for
Governor; State of Ohio

Tim Hagan has spent most of his working life in public service, including nearly two decades in elected public office.

Born in Youngstown on March 18, 1946, eight minutes after his twin brother Jim, Tim early on learned lessons of sharing, a lesson reinforced as the Hagan family grew to 14 children. Tim attended grade school at St. Rose and Ursuline High School, and after service with NATO forces in the U.S. Army, went to school on the GI Bill, earning a bachelor's degree in Urban Studies from Cleveland State University. Tim worked in construction, at a steel mill, as a baker, and as a social worker in a low-income Youngstown housing project. It was through this work Tim developed an appreciation for the dignity of work and the struggles of the working poor that would become a hallmark of his politics.

The Hagans were brought up to stand up for one another and for those who had no one to stand up for them. Tim's father, Robert E. Hagan, a businessman and inventor who turned to politics to address racial, social and economic injustice, was elected County Commissioner and State Representative. His mother, Ada DiLoreto Hagan, marched in civil rights marches and taught her children about fairness and compassion. Tim worked on his father's campaigns and was inspired by the courage his parents showed when they held fast to their convictions even when their opinions were unpopular.

During one of his father's campaigns--an unsuccessful primary bid for Lt. Governor in 1970--Tim met Senate candidate Howard Metzenbaum and signed up with his campaign for the general election. The role brought him to Cleveland, where he was quickly schooled in the city's rough and tumble politics. Tim proved to be a good student, becoming a respected Democratic political operative who held leadership roles on the campaigns of Senator Howard Metzenbaum, Senator John Glenn and Governor John Gilligan, successfully engineered statewide wins in 12 state representative races and helped recruit and elect several Cuyahoga County judges.

Tim worked in administrative positions in state, county and regional governments before he was elected by fellow Democrats to serve as the chairman of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party. In 1982, he filled a vacancy in the office of Cuyahoga County Recorder and two years later was elected to the first of four terms as County Commissioner.

As County Commissioner, Tim stayed true to his upbringing and served as a voice to those most in need of being heard--the county's children, its mentally retarded and mentally ill, its elderly and its poor. While his compassion won him awards and the respect of the human services community, he maintained the county's fiscal responsibility, balancing billion dollar budgets in every year he served.

Tim has served on the faculty of Cleveland State University and Case Western Reserve University, and currently serves as a consultant to the Mandel Foundation. Late last year, Tim joined the board of trustees of Olmsted Township, where he lives, after being drafted by town leaders.

Tim Hagan has two daughters and is married to actress Kate Mulgrew.