Last Friday, the race for state representative in House District 79 got a little more interesting. Argeri Lagos, an attorney and businessman in Springfield, declared his candidacy with the hope of replacing term-limited Rep. Ross McGregor at the Statehouse.

Lagos will be running for his first public office, and at the age of 28 will provide a youthful alternative to the other declared candidates, Republican Kyle Koehler and Democrat Darrell Jackson. He practices law at his family’s firm Lagos and Lagos, and is also president of a real estate company, Springfield Spartans, LLC. His father and uncle, Tom and Jim Lagos, are successful businessmen in Springfield and longtime members of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. Tom Lagos currently serves on the Chamber’s board of directors.

In his press release, Argeri focused on the most important issue in Ohio – jobs and the economy.

“We need to aggressively compete for jobs. We must work together to make it known that Clark County is the best place in the state and in the nation for businesses to start and grow.”

The district is one of the most competitive in the state. It covers western Clark County, with Springfield being the population center. For Lagos, he must first make it through a challenging primary. Koehler, a Springfield businessman, ran for Clark County Commissioner in 2012 against incumbent David Hartley and lost narrowly after a recount. There have been rumors about other Republican candidates jumping in the race as well.

We love to see candidates with firsthand business knowledge running for the legislature; the General Assembly can benefit from having more lawmakers with this type of background. In fact, the departure of Rep. McGregor – with his experience running a mid-size manufacturing company and his lifetime 95% pro-business voting record – will be a big blow in this area.