Dem officials assess the fallout

By Denise Dick

The scandal doesn’t help Mahoning Valley’s image, officeholders say.

YOUNGSTOWN — Mahoning Valley Democratic Party leaders and officeholders believe Attorney General Marc Dann’s resignation amid scandal was the right move for the office, the party, the area’s image and Dann’s family.

Christ Michelakis, Trumbull County Democratic Party chairman, was surprised to learn of Dann’s resignation but believes it’s for the best.

Michelakis said he was unsure whether there were sufficient grounds to impeach the attorney general.

The party chairman said Dann’s choices for some of his top-level administration concerned him, referring to Anthony Gutierrez and Leo Jennings II, Dann’s former general services director and communications director, respectively.

Both men, longtime Dann friends, were fired May 2.

“I didn’t think he was going in the right direction,” Michelakis said.

The five-week-old scandal came to light when two attorney general’s office employees filed sexual-harassment complaints against Gutierrez, launching an investigation.

Dann, who is married, later admitted he had an affair with Jessica Utovich, his former scheduler.

Lisa Antonini, Mahoning County Democratic Party chairwoman, said Dann’s resignation was the best decision for both Dann’s family and the party.

“Marc did do some good things as attorney general, and I’m sure he’s disappointed that he can’t continue with those things,” Antonini said.

She cited foreclosure prevention and crackdowns on predatory lending as causes Dann’s office championed.

Antonini acknowledged the scandal and resignation don’t help the Mahoning Valley’s image.

“Obviously, it’s a black eye for Youngstown,” she said, noting other officeholders, business and labor leaders in the Valley continue to work well together.

“We’ll keep fighting that negative perception that plagues us,” Antonini said.

Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams said he’s experiencing a range of emotions from the scandal and resignation.

“We all make mistakes, and when you make them on the public stage the scrutiny is that much more intense,” the mayor said.

First and foremost, Williams feels bad for Dann and Dann’s family.

“The sensitivity for Marc and his family transcends everything else,” Williams said.

He’s also angry, though, at the way Youngstown is being portrayed.

“This has nothing to do with Youngstown,” Williams said. “None of the people involved are from Youngstown. These things didn’t happen in Youngstown.”

Dann and Gutierrez both live in Liberty, and Jennings lives in Poland.

“Then there’s also sadness,” Williams said.

Dann was doing some good things for the Mahoning Valley, he said. Dann located an office of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation in the city as he said he would.

Dann also was meeting with officials from Forum Health to try to address that company’s difficulties.

Williams also expects the controversy to make it difficult for other candidates from the Valley who want to seek statewide office.

The image of Youngstown and the Valley is changing, Williams said, but this latest scandal will give potential opponents more fodder.

Robyn Gallitto, Boardman trustees chairwoman, said, “It makes it that much more difficult to promote the good things that are going on [in the Valley] because people get distracted by scandals.”

Dann’s resignation is the best thing for all, Gallitto added.

In a written statement, state Sen. John Boccieri of New Middletown, D-33rd, said he supports Dann’s decision to resign.

“As I’ve publicly stated in previous discussions, I am outraged and disappointed by Marc Dann’s behavior,” Boccieri said. “Ohioans deserve and expect the highest level of honesty and integrity from their elected officials.”

He says he’s pleased that Gov. Ted Strickland and state leadership moved quickly to try to resolve the scandal.

“I fully support the inspector general’s swift and thorough investigation to determine if any criminal lines have been crossed,” the state senator said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Legislature and our statewide elected officials as we move forward with the people’s business. It’s time to close this dark chapter in Ohio’s history.”

State Rep. Robert F. Hagan of Youngstown, D-60th, said, “I think that what has happened today is something we Democrats have talked about a long time and that is weeding out the culture of corruption whether it’s in the Republican Party or the Democratic Party,” he said.

Hagan said he saw Dann as he was departing the capital.

“I shook his hand, gave him a hug, and told him I wished his family well,” Hagan said.

State Sen. Capri Cafaro of Liberty, D-32nd, said, “Marc said himself [in Wednesday’s press conference] that the attorney general’s office could not move to continue its work with him in the office.”

It was the right thing for the office and Dann’s family, she added. “It’s certainly sad.”

Cafaro doesn’t believe the problems in the office and subsequent resignation will hurt the Democratic Party.

Democratic officeholders were quick in calling for Dann’s resignation, filing articles of impeachment and demanding an independent investigation, she said.

When news surfaced of former Gov. Bob Taft’s ethics violations while he was in office, no Republican state officeholders called for investigations, she said.

In 2005, Taft pleaded no contest and was convicted in Franklin County Municipal Court to four misdemeanor ethics violations connected to gifts he received, including golf outings, that authorities say should have been reported on the governor’s financial disclosure forms from 2001 to 2004. He was ordered to pay $4,000 in fines.

Warren Mayor Michael J. O’Brien agreed.

The early insistence from the Ohio Democratic Party that Dann resign will help the party in the long run, he said.

“I think it’s important to know that they were the first to insist” on Dann’s resignation,” O’Brien said. “From a regional perspective, [the scandal’s ] very disappointing.”

Both he and Cafaro said that candidates for office should be judged on their own qualifications, accomplishments and abilities, not based on the area they come from.

XMark Kovac, Vindicator correspondent, contributed to this report.