Dann's hiring of two cabinet officers puzzling at best

The recent announcement by Attorney General-elect Marc Dann appointing two people to his Cabinet has me -- and others -- rather perplexed.
Dann named Ed Simpson, a former newspaper editor, as his chief of administration and policy, or as the AG-elect calls the job "chief of staff."
Dann, who begins his new job Monday, also selected Youngstown police Detective Sgt. Rick Alli as his chief of law enforcement operations.
As the attorney general's "top cop," what Dann called the post, Alli will oversee the law enforcement functions performed by the office. He'll act as Dann's liaison to local police departments, sheriffs' offices and other first responders; and serve as the attorney general's primary adviser and counselor on law enforcement issues.
Alli will oversee the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, the Peace Officer Training Commission and the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission.
Simpson will be one of the top two officials directly under Dann and will be in charge of the department's administration end.
Tom Winters, who Dann appointed as his first assistant attorney general, will handle the department's legal side. Winters' credentials are impressive. For the past 10 years, he served as a partner of the Columbus office of the Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease law firm and is a former chief of staff to the speaker of the Ohio House.
Simpson resigned as editor of The Joplin Globe in Missouri, a job he held since 1998, to be Dann's chief of staff. Simpson's r & eacute;sum & eacute;, provided by Dann, states he's the boss of 40 people at the newspaper.
Before going to Joplin, Simpson served as managing editor of the Tribune Chronicle newspaper in Warren for seven years. Simpson led a staff of 21, including Alyssa Lenhoff, Dann's wife, in Warren.
The attorney general's office has about 1,300 employees and Dann wants to increase that number.
That's quite a jump for Simpson, whom Dann describes as a longtime friend.
As for Alli, he's been with the Youngstown police department for 31 years, including the past 28 in a full-time capacity.
While Alli has handled a number of duties, he acknowledges he is a "mid-level manager." As with Simpson, Alli is making quite the jump from "mid-level manager" to "top cop."
Alli acknowledged he failed to tell his current boss, Youngstown Police Chief Jimmy Hughes, that he had accepted the job offer from Dann before Tuesday's press conference. He didn't leave Hughes completely in the dark. Alli said he previously told the chief that he was looking at the position.
Mayor Jay Williams found out about Alli's new job when his chief of staff told him after reading Vindy.com's Newswatch.
To me, that's an extreme lack of judgment on Alli's part.
Also, while Alli has gone through a variety of police training programs and lists Stewart's International School for Jewelers in Juniper, Fla., under "education" on his r & eacute;sum & eacute;, he also placed Youngstown State University and Denison University in Granville in the same category.
When asked if he received a degree from either university, Alli said no because he "never had a desire to finish. There are a lot of requirements. I found no need [to take the required courses] at this time."
Dann said Alli and Simpson are uniquely qualified for their positions.
Dann said Simpson "brings an unparalleled blend of experience" including "successfully [managing] a large organization, he has a clear understanding of and appreciation for public policy, he knows the state of Ohio, and he obviously has the skills needed to effectively communicate with the public, the media and government officials."
I would disagree with the "large organization" claim as 1,300 is considerably more than 40. I have no idea about the second point. I question how Dann could list Simpson's knowledge of Ohio as an attribute when he spent seven years working in Warren in the 1990s. I don't dispute the last attribute.
As for Alli, he's going from being a "mid-level manager" to what Dann calls his "top cop." Even more so than Simpson, Alli has a lot to prove.
While it's great that Dann is a Mahoning Valley native and is hiring a Youngstown cop and a former Trumbull County resident for such key roles, he too will be under the microscope.