by Marc Kovac
Capital Bureau Chief
Resign or face imminent impeachment.
That was the message sent by Gov. Ted Strickland and all major statewide Democratic office-holders to embattled Attorney General Marc Dann, in a letter to him May 4 stating that he had "reparably harmed [his] ability to effectively serve the people of our great state."
"We are ready to take whatever action is necessary," Strickland told reporters during recent press conference. "I would hope the Attorney General would understand that his effectiveness as an Attorney General has been so greatly diminished that, in my judgment at least, he cannot appropriately continue to fulfill the duties of that office. I would hope that he would recognize that and choose to resign. If he does not, ... there will be steps taken to bring about an impeachment inquiry."
So went the latest chapter in an increasingly ugly saga that started more than a month ago when two 26-year-old women employed in the Attorney General's Office formally filed sexual harassment complaints against their manager -- a friend, neighbor and one-time roommate of Dann.
An investigation determined that that individual, Anthony Gutierrez, did sexually harass employees, repeatedly drove a state-owned vehicle while drinking and otherwise created an atmosphere of hostility for employees.
The Democratic office-holder's top spokesman and strategist, Leo Jennings, asked another witness in the probe to "play a little bit fast and loose" when answering investigators questions. They both were fired late last week. And Edward Simpson, Dann's Chief of Policy and Administration, did not act on sexual harassment complaints for weeks after they were made.
Following the announcement, Dann admitted Cronyism in his office's hiring practices, said he was not adequately prepared for his elected position, apologized for carrying on an affair with an individual he would not name and vowed to clean up the tarnished image of his administration.
Strickland told reporters he spent the weekend looking over the results of the investigation and the transcripts of interviews with those involved.
"I did the best I could to understand what has taken place in the Attorney General's Office and the conduct of the Attorney General and many of the people who worked with him," he said. "And following that, I concluded that he should step down."
Inconsistencies in testimony, a "failure to recognize the seriousness of the things that happened" and a lack of proper management and oversight were among the reasons Strickland said he and others are pushing for a resignation.
"...There seems to be a pattern of unacceptable behavior, of mismanagement, failure to manage, that caused me to conclude that [Dann] was not able to continue to effectively carry out the duties of Ohio's Attorney General," he said, adding later, "I don't want to imply that I think that the Attorney General has not done some good things. And, of course, most of the people who work in that office are career professionals, and they are people who work hard and carry out their duties in an admirable way with honesty and integrity... (But) there have been decisions made in that office, and there have been failures to manage that office...."
Marc Kovac is the Dix Newspapers Capital Bureau chief. E-mail him at mkovac@dixcom.com.