AG’s emails show tension between Dann and scheduler

YOUNGSTOWN — Attorney General Marc Dann contends nothing in the 2,200 or so e-mails between him and his former scheduler was “written in anger,” a spokesman said.

But some of the e-mails between Dann and Jessica Utovich show tension between the two.

In a Sept. 6 e-mail, Utovich wrote: “I appreciate constructive criticism and confrontation when things are not working properly as I like to do the best that I can and try to make arrangements to your liking. However, I do not appreciate being yelled at in front of everyone.”

In response, Dann wrote: “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have had that conversation in that matter. I tried to talk to you earlier. You became totally defensive and my anxiety level increased dramatically.”

The same day, Utovich wrote: “My face hurts and burns from crying and I can’t keep fighting.”

The attorney general’s office complied with a records request Monday from many media outlets seeking e-mails between Dann, 46, a Liberty Democrat, and Utovich, 28, of Columbus, from last September through November.

When asked about the tone of the e-mails, Jim Gravelle, the office’s assistant director of communications, said, “It’s difficult, almost impossible, to interpret ... I’m reading them, and I can’t hear laughter or inflection. You don’t know the context of ‘you dummy.’ But not once did Marc Dann say anything was written in anger.”

Some other e-mails have the two calling each other derogatory names.

Read more in Wednesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com