Attorney General Dann keeps campaign promises -- so far

We have no doubt that in Columbus, which owes its success to all the state agencies, departments and offices located in the city, the announcement of 38 jobs coming to the downtown area would not have caused a stir.
But in Youngstown, which has had to fight tooth-and-nail for a share of state government's largess, the plan by Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann to move 38 employees in the city-owned 20 Federal Plaza, formerly the Phar-Mor Centre, was front-page news.
There are two reasons Dann's announcement during a news conference Monday at the office building is noteworthy: First, it's highly unusual for a statewide officeholder to keep a campaign promise to the Mahoning Valley just three months after being sworn in; second, as a Democrat who had served as state senator from Trumbull County, he could easily have found a reason not to keep the promise -- and would, in all likelihood, have been forgiven by this predominantly Democratic region.
During his campaign for attorney general last year, Dann spoke at length about the need for the Valley to be on state government's radar screen. He pledged that if elected, he would use his position to assist in the area's economic revitalization.
Hardened editorial writers were skeptical. But the attorney general is giving us reason to believe in him.
The 38 jobs he is moving into 20 Federal Plaza have an annual payroll of 1.8 million. Twenty-two of the positions are with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation's Boardman office and the rest are members of Dann's new statewide predatory lending task force and employees being transferred from Columbus to Youngstown.
"I love this state, but I love the community in a special way," he said during the press conference. " ... This is a community on the rebound."
High praise
Mayor Jay Williams had high praise for the attorney general, calling him a "man of action" who kept his promise to the Valley.
"A lot of promises are made and not kept," Williams said, echoing the sentiments of many residents.
Dann also ran on a platform of transparency, saying the Ohio Bureau of Worker's Compensation scandal -- Coingate -- had revealed the pay-to-play culture developed by Republicans during their domination of state government.
This week, he showed just how far he is willing to go to ensure that Ohio's open meetings and public records laws are followed by state government. He called for the resignation of three members of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio because their nominations were decided behind closed doors, and said the appointment of the newest member should also be voided because it was agreed to by the commission's nominating council during a closed door meeting.
"They [the commission members] haven't done anything wrong, and we're not suggesting that they have," Dann said. "But public-meetings laws are there for a reason."
The three commissioners were appointed by former Gov. Bob Taft, while the newest member was nominated by Strickland.
Letters detailing the failure to follow the law were sent to Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat, who has the right to reappoint the same commission members. The governor seems inclined to do so.
Dann's involvement in the PUCO is encouraging because it sends a message to all state agencies and departments that adherence to open meetings and public records laws is not optional.