Dann Confesses Romantic Relationship, Refuses to Resign, Calls for 2^nd Transition after Firing Friends, Confidants

ePluribus Media OhioNews Bureau 

COLUMBUS, OHIO: Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann, a Democrat elected in a surprise upset victory in 2006, held a news conference Friday to announce he will not resign, amid a growing chorus including former supporters and Republicans are asking him to do in the wake of sex scandals in his office which include a self-confessed romantic relationship between himself and another unnamed private person, but will fully implement recommendations contained in an intra-agency investigative report he says will constitute a second transition for him and the agency.

For a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat like Dann to quote a dyed-in-the-wool Republican like the late great John Wayne was indeed curious but fitting for his predicament.

“Life is getting up one more time than you've been knocked down. Today, I’m getting up and dusting myself off by accepting responsibility, apologizing, and making necessary changes. And I’m doing this because nothing, least of all my shortcomings, should stand in the way of the important work we are doing.” [Marc Dann quoting John “Hondo” Wayne in his statement]

He opened his remarks by saying the serious allegations have been made about the conduct of people in my office have been substantiated, and promised to accept the decisions contained in the report by First Assistant Attorney General Tom Winters to discharge Anthony Gutierrez and Leo Jennings III and accepting Ed Simpson’s decision to step down as Chief of Policy and Administration.

“I hired them with great hopes. I believed they brought strengths and good qualities to the job. Unfortunately, they let me down. I take full responsibility. As disappointed as I am with the conduct of others, I am even more disappointed in myself. I did not create an atmosphere in my public and personal life that is consistent with the important mission of the Office of the Attorney General and more worthy of the great work that we have been accomplishing for the people of the State of Ohio.

I am heartbroken by my failure to recognize the problems being created and by my failure to stop them. I should have been much more aggressive to make sure that those who violated my trust were disciplined immediately. I should have put in place a management structure that would have addressed these types of problems long before they ever became front page news stories or more importantly, personal tragedies. I have not conducted myself in a way that is consistent with my values as a husband, a father, and my responsibilities as the Attorney General of Ohio.”

He confessed to becoming romantically involved with a member of his staff at a difficult time in my marriage. Dann, 46, said such was intrinsically wrong and has caused “my family and my employees immense hurt and embarrassment.”

Jessica Utovich, Dann’s former scheduler and the woman most suspected to be his romantic liaison, also resigned. Winters said he would have fired Simpson had he not resigned but expressed no similar circumstances regarding Utovich.

“To Alyssa and my children, to the employees of the office of the Attorney General, I apologize from the bottom of my heart for my human failings. My errors in judgment have allowed the creation of a sideshow that has played out in the news. This sideshow has distracted attention from the good work being done by the Attorney General’s office.” [Marc Dann Statement]

Enumerating on that good work being done by the office, Dann pointed to his work on “the biggest insurance companies for fixing prices on business insurance…putting the full force of Ohio’s law enforcement and consumer protection machinery against those who defrauded Ohioans out of their houses…and extracting millions from pharmaceutical companies who have ripped off the state and individual Ohioans.”

“I will work tirelessly to re-earn the public’s trust,” he said, vowing to hire the chief of staff of a former Ohio Democratic governor to lead a small working group that will identify changes in management structure and personnel. “I envision this as a second transition, “ Dann said, causing reporters and other watching on TV to question whether he will be around long enough to oversee the opportunity to have a second chance to make a first impression.

Dann also announced the firing of two top aides, Anthony Gutierrez, his director of general services, and Leo Jennings III, his director of communications, who were long-time friends, confidants and advisers at the center of a political potent maelstrom triggered by allegations by them including sexual harassment of subordinates, misuse of state property, the unauthorized carrying of a firearm in a public place and the encouragement of one staffer to lie to investigators.

During question and answer time with reporters, Dann directly admitted he was guilty of cronyism.

“We will reorganize our structure and hiring policies and procedures to recruit the best people for the job. New policies will be developed and implemented in the coming

months and weeks to address fraternization among employees, appropriate use of email, and respectful communication between employees, particularly between supervisors and subordinates.” [Marc Dann Statement]

The eruption today of the volcano that’s been building over the months arising from sexual harassment complaints filed by Cindy Stankoski and Vanessa Stout, employees of the agency, with the Equal Employment Opportunity office against Gutierrez, may be one of more tremors to come, as political supporters and opponents start the drumbeat for him to resign.

The Ohio GOP -- whose 2006 candidate for Attorney General, Betty Montgomery, had previously served eight years in the office but who lost in what was the hands-down surprise victory of the general elections as Republicans were ousted from office by Democrats like Dann who based their campaigns on restoring trust and integrity to government in the wake of years of alleged corruption and scandal by Republicans – has generally allowed the Dann drama to play itself out. They have, though, taken selected potshots at Democratic leaders for not asking Dann to resign in the swirl of his self-made mess as they were berated for not doing when their candidates held important statewide offices. In anticipation of the release of today’s reporting findings, the Ohio GOP posted this comment on Dann’s “Big Day” at the office. GOP Deputy Chairman, Kevin DeWine, called for Dann to resign.

"Marc Dann failed the people of Ohio, and he must resign immediately. The state's top law enforcement officer has allowed immoral, unethical and even criminal behavior to thrive under his own supervision and at times with his own participation. He turned the attorney general's office into a raunchy frat pad, lied to the press and lied to his own investigator. It's simply not acceptable that everyone but Dann himself will be held accountable."

Political partisans who once cheered Dann as the people’s crusader, ready to take on the injustices of big business with a fury not seen before in that office, were now hanging their heads in shame, calling for him to step down for the good of the Democratic Party and himself.

“If Marc Dann does not resign at the end of this press conference, I suspect leaders of our party will be calling for his resignation throughout today. In fact all of us should be calling for his resignation too - bloggers, citizens, lawyers, and folks interested in good government. I voted for Marc Dann months back, but if I had it to do over again I would cast a ballot for his Republican opponent. Marc Dann is not a crusader for clean government, it's time for Marc Dann to leave.” [Buckeye State Blog]

Asked why he hired friends who were clearly not qualified for their jobs, Dann said it was a “reflection of my naiveté coming into office,” and said even he was “surprised that I won,” admitting that he was just a “small practice attorney” who suddenly was the head of a 1,400-staff law firm that on any given day might have as many as 35,000 cases before it. Nonetheless, he said he was still proud of the issues he raised despite not being “as well prepared for the office as I should have been.” After a lot of work, Dann said he’s “become a better AG.” Time will tell whether his transition to a better AG came too late to redeem himself in the eyes of Ohio voters, who will have their next shot at Dann in 2010, if he holds on to run for a second term.

The findings of the Espy/Pfeiffer report are as follows:

· Review the qualifications of all managers.

· Contract with an outside expert to look at office policy on use of state property and equipment.

· Create a call center for anonymous employee complaints.

· Establish a “zero tolerance” policy for sexual harassment.

· Use an outside investigator for future harassment complaints.

· Require all employees to under sexual harassment training.

· Reassign the Equal Employment Officer.

· Contact the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Cleveland to offer full cooperation with the agency's investigation.

· Cooperate with the State Highway Patrol and the Department of Administrative Services in doing further investigation and review.

· Meet with the Ohio Ethics Commission to discuss Gutierrez's misuse of state property and allegations that he conducted work on state time and using state property.

In stark contrast to what has become the standard formula for self-confessed male office-holding sinners to have their wives at their side, Dann’s wife, was no where to be seen. He said she was at work at Youngstown State College and got choked up telling her she was his “Achilles Heel because I care so much about her” and that he was “heartbroken in a thousand different ways.”

Dann also said he expect he won’t have “much of a relationship” with the two long-time friends he fired today, Gutierrez and Jennings. “They have violated my trust, and I can’t image I’ll have much of a relationship with them,” he said wistfully.

Not answering the question reporters and others asked regarding why his friends were fired but he wasn’t if the buck stopped with him, Dann said he’d been “punished enough” and would “work every single day to make them (Ohioans) proud of me again.”

Dann acknowledged talking with Gov. Ted Strickland, but offered no further details of that discussion.

Dann said he will call for an independent investigation and said more may play out, based on the pending EEO case, further work by the Ohio Highway Patrol and any civil actions that may arise from it all.

“This is a great job and I want to continue to do great work,” he said to an agitated group of reporters, some of whom he singled out for writing inaccurate articles. He asked reporters to forward information to him on whether Jennings had a past he should have been aware of. Speaking of his long-time friends contributions to the office, Dann said, “I’m not aware of any criminal activity in Leo Jennings’ past.” He said Jennings contributed well to the state and did many good things, such as on legislative matters, especially with payday lending. “He let me down. I’m heartbroken by it. I ordered him put on leave. That was hard. When I received a text message he was trying to impede the investigation, I forwarded it to Mr. Espy, then asked Winters to put Leo on administrative leave. I’m disappointed beyond any measure in his conduct.”

Dann, who was apologetic and contrite for most of the time but who showed occasional sparks of ferocity when engaging reporters and their questions, said what happens next will be up to the investigators, who he said can decided what they want to do.

Dann refused to reveal any discussions with his family. So far, he said, no Democratic Party official has asked him to step down. So the Dann death watch starts. Will he survive or will he fall on his sword for the good of the party, the agency and the taxpayers of Ohio.

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