Independent files for Dann’s job

By David Skolnick

The state Democratic and Republican parties have until Aug. 20 to select their candidates.

A lawyer from the Columbus area is the only candidate to file as an independent for Ohio attorney general.

Robert M. Owens, of Delaware, filed nominating petitions with about 1,100 signatures with the secretary of state’s office. Tuesday was the filing deadline for those running as independents for the seat in the Nov. 4 general election.

Those who ran as independents needed to file petitions with at least 750 valid signatures.

The secretary of state’s office will send Owens’ petitions to counties in which he obtained signatures to check their legitimacy, said Kevin Kidder, an office spokesman. The process should take a couple of weeks, Kidder said.

If Owens has enough valid signatures, the secretary of state will certify him as a candidate for the November ballot.

Owens is a trial lawyer who received his law degree from Capital University Law School in Columbus, according to his law firm’s Web site.

Marc Dann, a Liberty Democrat, resigned May 14 as attorney general. A May 2 internal attorney general investigation criticized the office for cronyism and mismanagement and for creating a hostile work environment. The report led to the firing of two of Dann’s top-level officials and the forced resignation of a third.

Dann initially refused to step down despite calls from Democrats and Republicans to do so.

But Dann announced his resignation only hours after investigators with the inspector general’s office and Ohio State Highway Patrol officials seized computers, BlackBerry phones and documents from the attorney general’s office as part of an investigation.

Since Dann’s resignation, Tom Winters, first assistant attorney general, has run the office.

Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat formerly of Lisbon, is considering whom he’ll appoint to serve as interim attorney general.

“The governor is taking the time to make the best possible selection and decision,” said Keith Dailey, his spokesman. “There is no definitive time frame.”

Those close to the governor expect a selection around mid- to late June.

The governor also has to decide if he’ll select a caretaker to run the office or name someone who would be the incumbent as the Democratic Party’s attorney general candidate in the Nov. 4 election to fill the remainder of Dann’s term. That term runs through January 2011.

The Ohio Democratic Party is waiting until Strickland makes an appointment before proceeding with its process.

“We’ll have a much clearer picture of what the race is going to look like after the governor makes his decision,” said Alex Goepfert, state Democratic Party spokesman.

Democrats and Republicans have until 4 p.m. Aug. 20 to select their attorney general candidates for the Nov. 4 election.

Republicans established a committee to review its candidates. Among the committee members are Mark Munroe, Mahoning County Republican vice chairman, and Dave Johnson, Columbiana County Republican chairman.

The committee hasn’t met yet with the party, giving potential candidates time to express their interest, Munroe said.

“The party is interested in recruiting and nominating the best candidate who’s electable,” he said. “This process will begin to unfold over the next few weeks.”

Also, those who want to run as write-in candidates have until 4 p.m. Sept. 3 to file with the secretary of state’s office.

skolnick@vindy.com