Article published May 16, 2008
GOP sees opportunity in Dann scandal
Republicans hope to heal Coingate wounds
Ohio Inspector General Tom Charles is overseeing the investigation into former Attorney General Marc Dann's office.
(
ASSOCIATED PRESS
)
|
By JIM PROVANCE
BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU CHIEF
COLUMBUS - Attorney General Marc Dann's resignation has Ohio Republicans hoping to use Democratic sex scandals this fall to heal some of the Coingate-inflicted GOP wounds of two years ago.
The Ohio Republican Party already has begun calling it a "culture of corruption," appropriating the catch-phrase used successfully by Mr. Dann and other Democrats in a near sweep of statewide offices in 2006.
"If you look at the last three weeks, you have a Democratic state representative who resigned in disgrace, you have a Democratic attorney general who has resigned in disgrace, and you have a county recorder in Cuyahoga County, an officer of the Democratic Party, who resigned in disgrace," said Rep. Kevin DeWine (R., Fairborn), Ohio GOP deputy chairman.
"It does beg the question of whether there is a culture of corruption or at least a culture of hedonism," he said.
The decision of who will replace Mr. Dann as Ohio's top law enforcement official in the short term belongs to Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland. But voters ultimately will decide in a special election Nov. 4 who will complete the last two years of Mr. Dann's term.
Among those mentioned are Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray; Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher; Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates; Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason, and Montgomery County Prosecutor Mathias Heck.
Ms. Bates said last night that no state official has called to make a job offer, or even to float the possibility.
"No one has called, asking me to move to Columbus," Mrs. Bates said, adding that the mention of her name as a possible replacement is "very flattering.""I am really blessed to be running unopposed for a fourth term as Lucas County prosecutor. That's what I'm planning on doing," she said. "Any other opportunities, of course, you'd have to discuss and think about.
"[It] would be rude to dismiss something like that out of hand. But I have a really good job, and I'm happy with it."
In the meantime, Mr. Dann's first assistant, Thomas Winters, will run the attorney general's office and deal with an ongoing, wide-ranging investigation by Ohio Inspector General Tom Charles.
"We need someone who will restore trust in the office, who has experience, who can demonstrate they know the legal system and how to administer an office, and has a track record," said Jim Ruvulo, a former state and Lucas County Democratic Party chairman.
"Marc Dann was a state senator with no track record in administration and no track record in law enforcement. Obviously the wrong choice," he said.
On May 2, Mr. Dann admitted to having an extramarital affair with a subordinate in his office, and said he feared his behavior may have contributed to an office atmosphere that led to sexual harassment allegations by two other employees against a top aide.
He fired that aide and another one for allegedly trying to persuade an employee to mislead internal investigators. He accepted the forced resignation of his chief of staff for failing to act swiftly on the harassment complaints.
| POSSIBLE REPLACEMENTS |
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Some of the names emerging as possible successors to former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann, who resigned Wednesday under threats of impeachment and multiple investigations:
Democrats (would be appointed by Gov. Ted Strickland and likely run for the post in a November special election):
• Ben Espy, executive attorney general under Dann, former state lawmaker.
• State Treasurer Richard Cordray.
• Eric Fingerhut, higher education chancellor, former state lawmaker.
• Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, attorney general from 1990 to 1994.
• Matt Heck, Montgomery County Prosecutor.
• Kent Markus, Strickland’s legal counsel, former director of the National Center for Adoption Law and Policy at Capital University Law School.
• William Mason, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor.
Republicans (would oppose Strickland’s appointee or other Democratic nominee in November):
• Douglas Cole, state solicitor general from 2002 to 2006.
• Mike DeWine, former state lawmaker and U.S. senator.
• Betty Montgomery, attorney general from 1994-2002, says she won’t run.
• Ron O’Brien, Franklin County prosecutor, considered a run for the job in 2006.
• Jim Petro, attorney general from 2002 to 2006, gave up the post for an unsuccessful run for governor. Said to prefer running for Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court in 2010. |
|
|
But Mr. Dann didn't step down until after House Democrats filed proposed articles of impeachment against him and lawmakers and Mr. Strickland unleashed the inspector general on his office.
Mr. Charles normally investigates only offices under the governor's control.
Some are speculating Mr. Strickland may appoint a placeholder to keep the seat warm while Mr. Cordray runs in the fall without having to give up his job as state treasurer, a job he's held less than 17 months.
That would allow Democrats to avoid risking two of their statewide offices in a midterm special election.
"The governor is at the very beginning of the process," Strickland spokesman Keith Dailey said. "He will take as much time as necessary to make the best possible decision. We don't plan to engage in speculation about who is under consideration."
To support the "culture of corruption" tag, Republicans link Mr. Dann's resignation with that of former state Rep. Matt Barrett (D., Amherst), who quit after House Democrats learned he'd misled them over how pictures of nude women found their way into a computer presentation on government that he accidentally flashed before a Norwalk High School class in October.
They also point to Patrick O'Malley, secretary of the Ohio Democratic Party, who resigned yesterday as Cuyahoga County recorder as he faced a federal obscenity charge.
Among the GOP names mentioned for an attorney general run this fall are former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien, U.S. Rep. Deborah Pryce of Columbus, Delaware County Prosecutor Dave Yost, and former Cincinnati congressman Rob Portman.
Contact Jim Provance at: jprovance@theblade.com or 614-221-0496.
Permanent Link
|
|
 |
|
LISTEN: 
VIEW: 
TOLEDO CONNECTION: 
VIDEO: 
TALK BACK: Join 
Search
advertisement
