N.Y. Times compares Dann to Spitzer

Dann ‘demurs’ when asked about emulating the governor of New York.

By DAVID SKOLNICK

VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — An article in The New York Times touts Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann as a “strong candidate” to replace New York’s Eliot Spitzer as the country’s most aggressive state attorney general.

Spitzer, New York’s former attorney general, gained national attention by taking on Wall Street and mutual funds and the insurance industry. He parlayed that into winning last year’s election for New York governor.

“With Mr. Spitzer now in the governor’s mansion, is there another state regulator trying to take up his badge? A strong candidate for the new Spitzer might be Marc Dann,” according to the newspaper article.

The article points out that the Democrat from Liberty Township has “sharply criticized” UnitedHealth Group on how the insurance company got rid of its former chief executive, William W. McGuire. McGuire is accused of backdating more than $2.3 billion in stock options. Shareholders are suing the company, its board and its executive to revoke the stock options.

Other similarities

The article also mentions how Dann has revived an investigation concerning accusations that Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc., a major insurance brokerage, violated the state’s antitrust laws.

Among the accusations is that the company conspired with commercial casualty insurance agencies to eliminate competition and mislead customers, according to Dann.

Spitzer took on Marsh & McLennan in 2004, accusing the company of rigging insurance sales bids.

When asked if he is trying to emulate Spitzer, the article states Dann “demurs.” But without Spitzer, Dann said, “certainly, there was a vacuum” among attorney generals in the country.

The article includes how Dann originally made a name for himself as a state senator in 2005 by “becoming a tenacious critic of the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, which was then embroiled in a statewide scandal.”

skolnick@vindy.com