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Attorney general defends legal work, rejects pleas from Strickland, others
By Stephanie Warsmith
and Dennis Willard
Beacon Journal staff writers
Published on Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Ohio's top Democrats, including Gov. Ted Strickland, on Monday asked Attorney General Marc Dann to resign and threatened to try to impeach him if he doesn't step down.
The embattled attorney general, who admitted to an affair with a junior staffer and fostering a work environment that led to sexual harassment, was also besieged by calls from Republicans to do the same.
In an interview with the Beacon Journal's editorial board Monday afternoon, Dann said he was surprised and disappointed by the response from Strickland and the other officeholders. He said he needs time to prove himself and turn his office around.
''If I reach a point where I am detracting from the office, I will reconsider,'' Dann said during the hourlong interview that he wouldn't permit to be taped or videotaped. ''I am nowhere near that point now.''
Dann said he betrayed the trust of voters by having an affair with a subordinate and failing to hire smartly or supervise wisely. He said he kept his promises in ''thousands'' of other ways, though, such as in going after predatory lenders. He pointed, as an example, to the Evergreen mortgage case in Summit County, which his office is helping prosecute.
''We've done great legal work,'' Dann said, speaking quickly and — along with two of his staffers — looking glum. ''No one has challenged that,'' he said.
Dann said he has changed his managing structure and the way he handles hiring and is having an evaluation of his operating procedures done.
On Friday, Dann fired two employees and accepted resignations from two more following an internal investigation that focused on sexual harassment charges against Anthony Gutierrez.
Dann said he was not going to resign because he believes telling his wife and three children about the affair and apologizing to Ohioans for his mistakes is punishment enough.
Strickland, one of seven Democratic leaders to sign a letter requesting resignation, said he talked twice to Dann on the telephone Sunday and each time implored him to step down.
''He told me he did not intend to do that,'' Strickland said. On Friday, the governor said he believed Dann was using ''double standards'' in ousting employees while keeping his job.
Dann sent a memo to his employees Monday stating he would not resign and that it was time to roll up shirtsleeves and go to work.
Dann promises fight
The governor said a resolution for impeachment would be introduced by an Ohio House Democrat, but Strickland gave vague legal reasons when asked to specify charges that merited Dann's ouster.
Dann told the Beacon Journal a requirement for impeachment is committing a misdemeanor — which he said he has not committed. He said if legislators pursue this course, he will argue his case.
''He told me he did not do anything to justify his leaving the office,'' Strickland said.
The governor outlined a litany of shortcomings on Dann's part that he said added up to malfeasance.
''Any one of them may have been serious enough to cause me to ask him to step down . . . taken together, there seemed to be a pattern of unacceptable behavior, of mismanagement, of failure to manage that caused me to conclude that he was not able to effectively carry out the duties of attorney general,'' Strickland said.
He said he was not a lawyer, and would not comment on whether Dann committed perjury.
''There were what I believe to be some inconsistencies in the testimony. A failure to recognize the seriousness of things that had happened. A failure to exercise proper oversight and management of the office,'' Strickland said.
During the internal investigation conducted by Ben Espy, executive assistant attorney general, Dann was asked whether his scheduler, Jessica Utovich, ever spent the night at a condo the attorney general shared with Gutierrez and Leo Jennings, his communications director fired for allegedly trying to influence a witness's testimony.
Initially Dann said he did not want to answer the question, but days later returned to Espy and admitted that he had knowledge that Utovich stayed overnight at the condo.
Utovich resigned Friday as did Ed Simpson, Dann's chief of staff, who was accused of not intervening when he learned about the problems caused by Gutierrez, ranging from sexually harassing two female workers to driving state vehicles after drinking.
Strickland said the letter to Dann pointed out no one person is more important than the office.
The governor continued his call for an external investigation and said he has considered potential replacements, but is not prepared to air those names publicly.
''We will clean our own house,'' Strickland said.
Batchelder tapped
House Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering, called on Dann to resign immediately and said the House will consider and thoroughly review any articles of impeachment in a fair manner.
''I am keenly aware of the gravity of this situation and the precedent any impeachment process might set,'' Husted said.
He asked state Rep. William Batchelder, R-Medina, to review the impeachment process, and the standards and merits necessary to proceed.
''I have selected Rep. Batchelder for this task for several reasons, paramount among them because he is respected by members of both sides of the aisle on matters of great importance,'' Husted said.
Batchelder has been a state lawmaker since the 1960s, except for eight years as a Ninth District Court of Appeals judge.
Senate President Bill Harris, R-Ashland, said Dann should resign and called for an independent external investigation, possibly by Ohio Inspector General Tom Charles.
''I do not see any scenario in which Marc Dann could be able to do an effective job as our attorney general. He should do the honorable thing and resign,'' Harris said.
Chris Redfern, Ohio Democratic Party chairman, said Dann should resign for the good of the party and the state.
He downplayed the political ramifications of the Dann scandal, but said Democrats won four statewide office races and picked up seven seats in the Ohio House in 2006 because Republicans refused to address the culture of corruption at the Statehouse.
Redfern, a state representative from Catawba Island Township, said Dann will no longer be recognized at party events, and a resolution addressing the attorney general that would oust him from the party will be voted on at Saturday's executive committee meeting.
Dann can attend the public state party event, but Redfern said he would not be allowed to speak to the committee prior to the resolution vote.
''We will distance ourselves both figuratively and literally,'' Redfern said.
He said the party is in position to take control of the Ohio House for the first time since 1995, pick up congressional seats and help a Democrat win the presidency.
Dann said during the Akron interview that he thinks it will be better for his fellow Democrats if he stays in office.
''I can do this job,'' he said. ''I see a path to making this right.''
Asked if there was anything he had done wrong that hadn't yet been revealed, Dann said definitively: ''No. No.''
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com. Dennis J. Willard can be reached at 614-224-1613 or dwillard@thebeaconjournal.com.
Ohio's top Democrats, including Gov. Ted Strickland, on Monday asked Attorney General Marc Dann to resign and threatened to try to impeach him if he doesn't step down.
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