Opponents call Dann a hypocrite

The AG candidate says Republicans are attacking because they fear him.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
State Sen. Marc Dann, a Democratic candidate in the 2006 Ohio attorney general's race, is once again the target of state Republicans.
"Marc Dann sets himself up as a paragon of virtue, but every time you turn around, there's another ethical problem," said John McClelland, Ohio Republican Party spokesman.
Dann, of Liberty, is an outspoken critic of the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation, which lost more than $250 million in its investment portfolio, and the attorney blames Republicans for that scandal and for creating a "pay-to-play" climate when it comes to obtaining state contracts.
Payment problems
However, Dann's current law firm and his former firm, Betras and Dann, failed to make timely payments to the BWC three times each for worker injury policies, according to Emily Hicks, a BWC spokeswoman. The most recent one was March 1, 2003; it was paid 26 days later.
"This happens; people are late," Hicks said. "Things of this nature happen. It's not a foreign concept."
Also, Dann registered with the BWC for a domestic help policy on June 2, 1993, and the premium was never paid, Hicks said. The case was referred to the attorney general's office for collection, and a lien was put on Dann's home, she said.
Dann, D-32nd, owed $434 in premiums and interest.
"In January 1996, Sen. Dann sent us a letter to cancel the policy for help he intended to hire but didn't hire," Hicks said. "Because he explained why he had not paid, the debt was canceled and the lien removed. The policy was not needed."
"Dann is turning out to be one of the Ohio Democratic Party's most hypocritical mouthpieces," McClelland said. "He wants to be the state's top law enforcement official, and he has his own ethical issues to deal with."
Senator's response
Dann said Ohio Republicans are attacking him because they fear him. The only other announced Democratic AG candidate is Subodh Chandra, a former Cleveland law director and assistant federal prosecutor.
"You don't attack someone who you don't think has a chance of winning," Dann said.
When Dann announced his candidacy for attorney general on Nov. 15, Ohio Republican Chairman Robert Bennett called the Democrat "one of the biggest hypocrites in state government."
Dann amended his 2004 ethics report because he failed to disclose a $168 gift, a jacket from a motorcycle rights group, and a $14.50 meal paid by Youngstown State University. Bennett compared that to Gov. Bob Taft, who was found guilty in August of four counts of failing to disclose about $6,000 worth of gifts between 2001 and 2004 on his state ethics reports.
skolnick@vindy.com