Hillsboro Mayor Drew Hastings will offer a State of the City address Monday night at a meeting of the Highland County Tea Party, the group announced Wednesday.
“Mayor Hastings will be sharing his vision as he looks forward to a successful and prosperous future for Hillsboro,” the organization said in an email.
The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 16, at the Hi-Tec Center, 1575 N. High St., Hillsboro. The public is invited to attend.
Hastings, who grew up in the Dayton area, moved to Los Angeles after beginning a career as a standup comedian relatively late in life. He returned to southern Ohio more than a decade ago, and began purchasing and renovating a number of properties in Hillsboro. He was elected mayor in 2011 with 62 percent of the vote, and re-elected in 2015 with 59 percent.
Most of 2016 was dominated by a seven-month investigation culminating in a trial last November in which he faced charges surrounding the use of a city dumpster, a $500 vacant property refund, and charges related to his residency. A judge threw out two charges during the trial, and a jury acquitted him of the remaining charges.
Hastings continues performing at comedy venues, mainly across the Midwest on weekend dates, and also is in demand at ag-related events, relating stories about being an unlikely farmer.
The Fayette County Chamber of Commerce recently announced that Hastings would be featured at its fifth annual Groundhog Breakfast on Thursday, Feb. 2 at the Mahan Building of the Fayette County Fairgrounds.
