COLUMBUS, Ohio — Republican state Rep. Bob Young has been removed from his committee leadership position in the Ohio House following his second domestic violence arrest.
A spokesperson for the House Republican Party confirmed exclusively to News 5 that Speaker Jason Stephens has removed Young (R-Green) from his Pensions Committee chairmanship. This is a role that gives a $9,000 pay bump and authority in the House.
Young (R-Green) is facing three charges: domestic violence, assault and violation of a protection order. The first two stemmed from an incident in July, and the third over the weekend.
On Wednesday, News 5 aired a story about how lawmakers on each side of the aisle want Young to stop embarrassing the state and just resign.
You can watch more in the player below:
Speaker Jason Stephens asked for Young to step down after the initial arrest in July. He told News 5 he stands by his statement.
So far, Young has refused. But Democrats had another idea.
"When I found out that he still has some leadership, specifically over pensions in Ohio, I knew that he needed to be removed from that," state Rep. Tavia Galonski (D-Akron) said.
She is in the next district over and has had to answer to Young's constituents while he is missing in action, she said. Galonski and Young's other neighbor, state Rep. Casey Weinstein (D-Hudson), put forward a formal request for the Republican to lose his chairmanship position.
Some lawmakers, like state Rep Ron Ferguson (R-Wintersville), think the punishment needs to go further.
"How can we have people in a position to make laws when they don't follow the laws?" Ferguson asked.
He thinks Young needs to be expelled completely if he won't resign, which would be the only other way to remove Young if he chooses not to.
The Ohio Constitution allows for House members to be punished for “disorderly conduct.” To expel a lawmaker, a resolution must be proposed by a colleague and 2/3s of the chamber must vote for approval.
Lawmakers being expelled is extremely rare. If Young was to be expelled, that would be the second time in about 150 years. The first was in 2021 when former House Speaker Larry Householder was expelled for racketeering charges. Householder was sentenced to 20 years in prison in late June.
News 5 has been reaching out to Young and his attorney extensively since the original arrest. Since mid-July, all calls, texts and emails have been left unanswered.
Recap
Young was arrested by the Summit County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) in early July for allegedly assaulting both his wife Tina and brother Michael. According to a witness statement, he also assaulted his wife's friend.
He was charged with two first-degree misdemeanors — one for domestic violence against his wife and the other for assault against his brother.
One of Tina's friends allegedly caught Young having an affair with a colleague and confronted both him and the supposed mistress, the friend's witness statement said. This friend was also concerned because Young abused Tina "a lot," she wrote.
Back in 2020, police reports show deputies were called on Young for a physical domestic disturbance. No charges were filed then.
Both Tina and Michael have restraining orders against Young — which means no contact. Young, however, left three voicemails for his wife on Saturday night, according to SCSO.
The Republican was charged with a first-degree misdemeanor of "recklessly" violating the protection order, according to the Barberton Municipal Court. He was released from Summit County Jail after spending the night in custody.
He must wear a GPS monitor at all times.
Young has a pretrial hearing at 1 p.m. Thursday for all three charges.
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