| Dann is Done |
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| Ohio News | ||
| By John Michael Spinelli | ||
| Wednesday, 14 May 2008 15:25 | ||
Dann is DoneAssistant Attorney General Tells Employees Marc Dann Resigned, Applauds their Good WorkePluribus Media OhioNews BureauCOLUMBUS, OHIO: Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann has finally resigned, as the pressure on him to do rose to fever pitch levels in the wake of an internal investigation that showed gross misconduct, misfeasance and malfeasance was committed by him and three of his close friends and confidants who he hired into leadership positions when he won the office in a surprise upset in 2006. The notice of Dann's resignation was contained in an email to agency employees from Assistant Attorney General Tom Winters, who said he would fill Dann's office until Gov. Ted Strickland appointed a replacement. Winters complimented the agency's many employees for the good and hard work, and called on them to keep doing it in spite of the furor over the sexual exploits of Dann and his close cronies, which fueled Democratic lawmakers, working in close quarters with Strickland and other Democratic statewide officeholders who called on Dann to resign or face impeachment. Article of Impeachment were introduced yesterday in the Ohio House and the legislature passed and Strickland signed a bill whisked through the General Assembly in record time that launched an investigation by Ohio Inspector General Tom Charles, whose forces showed up today to confiscate computers and lock down the offices of Dann and several of his assistants.
Video courtesy of The Ohio Channel showing the resignation statements given by Marc Dann and Gov. Strickland, along with a question and answer session with the media, is found here. Running time is 40 minutes. SOMBER AND SERIOUS, DANN BOWS OUT A somber and serious Dann read a prepared statement from the podium. He said he has come forward to admit mistakes and to take responsibility and to announce steps toward giving the office of attorney general an administrative backbone worthy of the "great legal work that we were doing in the office." He said he saw it as his fiduciary duty to fix the problems on his watch, especially as it concerned his own admission. "Unfortunately, the last step I must take to fix these problems is to resign as attorney general effectively immediately," he said, his voice a little shaky. Continuing, he said it was his belief that his resignation would preserve the great work being doing by the office of attorney general. "We must continue to make effective use of of Ohio's law enforcement and consumer protection and bank regulatory machinery to aggressively take on predatory lenders and their co-conspirators who have decimated many neighborhoods in our state. He said the office must continue to bring environmental and consumer protection cases to make sure that the quality of life is second to none here in Ohio and that law abiding businesses are protected. He said the office of attorney general "must continue to make non profit health care institutions more accountable and make health care more accessible to uninsured Ohioans and that the office must continue to save the state money in the office of attorney general by maintaing an objective and nonpolitical process for assigning legal work both in side and outside the office. "It has been my priority," he said, "over the last few weeks to try and restore those priorities to the forefront of the office's work," adding that in the vast majority of th 1,400 employees of the attorney general's office have been doing outstanding, nationally recognized work. "I thank them for their incredible service over the past 17 moths; they deserve both to be recognized and continue to work without the distractions that the political situation I find myself in has caused. "It is now clear to me that the the only way to protect these priorities for the office of attorney general and for the people of Ohio is to remove myself form the situation." He said it was his highest priority to "focus on my family, and I thank my daughter Mia for being here with me today, and I'm anxious to get home to my wife and my son Charlie and my daughter Jessie." Ending, he said, "But I want to thank the people of Ohio for the opportunity to serve in this great office. Thank you." Strickand made the following statement after Dann, whose demeanor was that of a whipped dog looking for forgiveness and whose voice trailed off at the end of his statement to being barely audible, turned and left the governor's ceremonial cabinet room in the Statehouse with his adopted daughter in tow as he returned to his home and family in Youngstown, Ohio.
The drama surrounding Dann over many issues related to his competence and judgment in running the office has been brewing for months. But it all came to a head for the combative and pugnacious attorney from Youngstown, Ohio on May 2nd, when an investigative report done by his own agency that looked into complaints filed by two females in his office alleging they were victims of sexual harassment by a section chief Dann hired found the young women's stories to be true. Dann, a focus on the investigation, confessed to an extramarital affair with his young, female scheduler and was forced to acknowledge that his behavior contributed to the "Animal House" atmosphere in the agency. As recently as yesterday, Dann tried to bargain his way out of harms way, asking to postpone the Inspector General's investigation by three months, but state leaders denied him that option. For a review of what lead to Dann's resignation today, read this OhioNews Bureau story on it. About the author
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