By MARGIE TRAX PAGE - Staff Writer - mtrax@starbeacon.com
Star Beacon
May 06, 2008 07:29 pm
—
State and county officials agree: Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann should step down and save the state the trouble of impeaching him.
“I guess that is the word that is on everyone’s lips,” Sen. Capri Cafaro said. “Impeachment.”
Dann, who left the seat, which Cafaro filled 16 months ago, to lead the state attorney general’s office, fell under heavy criticism last week when he admitted to having had an extramarital affair with an employee. His office also has been embroiled in a sexual harassment scandal.
Dann said Monday he will not consider resigning his office, in spite of being called to so by Gov. Ted Strickland and other state leaders. Dann’s decision still stands, attorney general’s office spokesman Ted Hart confirmed Tuesday.
“(Dann) is not considering resignation, and that is the extent of our comment at this time,” Hart said.
Now the lines have been drawn in a standoff that could send Dann through the impeachment process, and local officials hope the ripple effect won’t reach Ashtabula County.
“The situation appears to be between Marc Dann and Gov. Strickland,” Ashtabula County Commissioner Joseph Moroski, a Republican, said. “A resolution will come one way or another, but at what cost to the people?”
Cafaro said the senate faces a full legislative agenda in May, including budget bills and a stimulus package, work that shouldn’t be interrupted by impeachment hearings.
“I just hope (a possible impeachment) won’t distract from the work we are doing now. This is really impactful legislation, and it shouldn’t be (overshadowed) by scandal,” she said.
In the letter calling for Dann’s resignation, Strickland and his co-signers wrote: “We believe that your actions have irreparably harmed your ability to effectively serve the people of our great state. The work of the Office of the Attorney General matters more, and is far more important, than any one person. In many, many cases, it is all that stands between the people and the powerful.”
The letter also states that the Democrats will seek his impeachment if Dann refuses to resign.
The Democrats’ letter also was signed by Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner; Treasurer Richard Cordray; U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown; Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher; the party’s two legislative leaders, Rep. Joyce Beatty and Sen. Ray Miller; and state party Chairman Chris Redfern.
Republican candidate for Ashtabula County commissioner Tom Nizen said he calls for Dann’s resignation and would support impeachment proceedings.
Cafaro, a Democrat, said she is disappointed in Dann and understands the impact the scandal has had on the state.
“I understand (Dann’s) will to stand strong, but for the good of the party and his family, perhaps he should reconsider his stand,” Cafaro said. “We swing focus from whether he should stay or go to whether he can continue to work effectively under the barrage of media attention … .”
Ashtabula County Commissioner Daniel Claypool, a Democrat, declined to lend his opinion on Dann’s possible impeachment, but said public trust must be upheld in any office at any cost.
“When a person runs for office, whether it be for township trustee or president of the United States, they are entrusted with public trust, and they have an absolute obligation to maintain that trust,” he said.
Cafaro said Dann’s predicament weighs heavy on her heart.
“I really and truly believe Marc Dann is a man who wants to right his wrongs,” Cafaro said. “The question is: Is it too late?”
State Sen. Deborah Newcomb and Ashtabula County Commissioner Peggy Carlo could not be reached for comments.
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