Dann attends conference for former AGs, mentors
Former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann
By REGINALD FIELDS
He was in the company of some familiar faces: Betty Montgomery and Jim Petro.
COLUMBUS — Marc Dann, who blamed his inexperience for embarrassing lapses that cost him his job as state attorney general after just 16 months, is now a member of a group that mentors attorneys general across the country.
Dann showed up this week at the National Association of Attorneys General summer meeting in Providence, R.I., as a member of the organization’s fraternity of former AGs who support the current officeholders.
In an e-mail to The Plain Dealer, Dann, a Democrat, confirmed that he attended the NAAG meeting Tuesday and Wednesday as a new member of the Society of Attorneys General Emeriti, or SAGE.
He added that he was in the company of some familiar faces: former Attorney General Betty Montgomery, whom he beat in the 2006 election, and Jim Petro, who held the office before Dann.
Also attending the NAAG conference was Nancy Rogers, who was appointed three weeks ago to replace Dann.
Dann, whose office was rocked by a sexual harassment scandal, quit his job five weeks ago as his fellow Democrats moved to impeach him and investigators from a host of agencies began looking at his office.
Still, a NAAG official said Dann’s visit was not awkward for many of his colleagues who embraced him.
“I’ve seen him a couple times. He was treated well by his colleagues. He was treated with respect,” said Angelita Plemmer, a NAAG spokeswoman. “I haven’t seen any evidence that he was treated badly.”
Plemmer said she was not sure if Dann had been invited to the SAGE events but that his membership was assured merely by being a former attorney general.
She said SAGE exists mostly for the former attorneys general to network over breakfasts and dinners. They support each other as many make the transition back into private law practice.
They offer advice and wisdom to their successors. The group also annually gives out an award to the member who best supports NAAG, in part, through mentoring efforts.
Dann resigned May 14 after the sexual harassment scandal revealed other problems in his office, including questionable hiring, management and spending practices.
Dann, who is married, also admitted to an affair with a staffer.
He is now the subject of several state inquiries reviewing everything from how he spent his campaign funds to how he paid for his rented Columbus apartment.
Dann did not respond to a question asking how he paid for his trip to Providence. The expenses were not paid by the state, said Jim Gravelle, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office.
Ohio Democrats and Republicans are prepping for an election this November to fill the remaining two years of Dann’s four-year term.
State Treasurer Richard Cordray is a lock for the Democrats, but Republicans are still weighing their options and are again considering Montgomery.