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Valley’s reaction: Dann disappoints us
The attorney general’s actions hurt the Valley’s image, local Democratic chairmen say.
YOUNGSTOWN — David Betras, a longtime friend and former law partner of Attorney General Marc Dann, said his pal’s biggest mistake was surrounding himself with yes-men.
“He didn’t have a person telling him, ‘Don’t do this,’” said Betras, who ran Dann’s attorney general campaign from its start until shortly after his May 2006 primary victory. “He needed someone like me — I could control him — to tell him no.”
The results of an internal attorney general’s office investigation of sexual harassment complaints categorized the office as unprofessionally run with a great deal of cronyism when it comes to hires. The results of the investigation were released Friday.
Dann, a Liberty Democrat, also acknowledged to The Vindicator that he had an extramarital affair with Jessica Utovich, his former scheduler who later became the office’s travel director. During an earlier press conference in Columbus, he didn’t identify her.
The results of the investigation led Dann on Friday to:
UFire Anthony Gutierrez, the director of general services and the person accused by two female subordinates of sexual harassment. Gutierrez was fired because the investigation showed he repeatedly sexually harassed Cindy Stankoski and Vanessa Stout, two female subordinates, as well as violated office policy regarding the use of state vehicles.
UFire Leo Jennings III, his communications director, because Jennings asked Jennifer Urban, a female attorney in the office, to “be loose with the facts” about their being together at a restaurant with Gutierrez and Stankoski, said Ben Espy, the assistant attorney general who spearheaded the investigation. Urban sent a text message to Dann on April 11 that read: “I will not lie like Leo wants me to ... I love you and Tony and Leo, but not enough to get disbarred.”
UAccept the resignation of Edgar Simpson, his chief of policy and administration, for failing to stop the improper conduct of management employees.
UDann also accepted Utovich’s resignation.
Gutierrez and Jennings were longtime friends of Dann who shared a condo with him from February to December 2007.
Gutierrez declined to comment.
Jennings couldn’t be reached by The Vindicator, but he told the Associated Press, “I did nothing wrong whether it’s this specific allegation leveled against me in the report or my conduct over the last 13 months with the attorney general’s office. I haven’t done a thing except do my job. My conscience is absolutely clear.”
Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland said the investigation showed a “double standard” with Dann staying while some employees were let go.
Harry Meshel, a former Ohio Democratic Party chairman and an ex-state Senate president, said he was “dumbfounded and terribly disappointed” with Dann.
“I thought he had a terrific future in politics,” Meshel said.
When asked if Dann should resign, something the attorney general is refusing to do, Meshel said: “I don’t know. It’s a serious question. It depends on the reaction from the public and the media. That will determine his future.”
Dann was elected as attorney general by aggressively attacking Republicans who controlled state government for about 15 years.
Because of that, Dann had a target on his back and needed to be extremely careful, Meshel said. Dann’s actions made the Mahoning Valley look bad and disappointed his supporters, Meshel added.
Betras, Dann’s law partner from 1991 to 1999, said he was concerned about how Dann would deal with serving as the state’s top attorney.
“Power can be intoxicating,” Betras said. “A couple of times I traveled with him. People opened doors for him and kissed his [expletive]. You don’t know if people are being nice to you because they like you or they want something. It was very disconcerting to see it.”
Because of people falling all over Dann, Betras said that’s probably why the attorney general surrounded himself with close friends such as Simpson, Jennings and Gutierrez.
Mahoning County Democratic Chairwoman Lisa Antonini said the revelations about Dann’s office “sheds a negative light on the Valley.”
She said Dann’s over-reliance on his friends from the Valley to help run the office was a problem.
But, Antonini said, if it hadn’t been for Dann’s tenacity in helping to expose corruption by Republicans running state government, Democrats wouldn’t have fared so well in the 2006 election.
“He can still do his job effectively,” she said.
Trumbull County Democratic Chairman Christ Michelakis said Dann failed to surround himself with the right people.
“It seemed he attracted some people who hurt him more than help him,” he said. “He’s got to clean his act up or he won’t get re-elected, that’s for damn sure. I really am disappointed. It reflects badly on this area. It gives us a bad name.”
Hiring cronies, as Dann did, for an office as large as the attorney general was a major error, said Paul Sracic, chairman of Youngstown State University’s political science department.
“Some people think it’s still the 1950s and you get elected to office and hire your buddies,” he said. “Government’s more complicated now. It’s not likely that the people you’re friends with can do all the jobs and that gets you in trouble.”
Dann could have hired plenty of qualified candidates for jobs in the office rather than choosing friends, Sracic said.
“Dann pointed out that Republicans were helping their friends and then he did the same thing,” he said. “The attorney general’s office isn’t a jobs program.”
Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat formerly of Lisbon, is “extremely disappointed and very concerned by the report,” said Keith Dailey, his spokesman. “He finds it very troubling.”
Dann has called for an outside independent review of the internal attorney general investigation. Strickland is also calling for one.
Until the governor reviews all the information, he won’t make a decision on asking for Dann’s resignation or seeking his impeachment, Dailey said.
Bill Koch, 43, of Youngstown, reading The Vindicator at Rosetta Stone cafe downtown Friday, said the news “is an embarrassment — for him and the rest of us. Youngstown already has an image of being a corrupt town.”
skolnick@vindy.com