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May
9
Only a few people can persuade me about only a few things. In 2006, now-Chancellor of Higher Education Eric Fingerhut explained to me why he supported Ohio Learn and Earn (Issue 3 aka legalizing casinos) but for all the respect I have for him, I just could not vote in favor of it.
Likewise, I’ve written glowingly several times about Secretary of State Brunner. So her comments in this Daily Record article are important to me, though I’m still convinced that the need to purge and prevent the re-institution in the Attorney General’s office of a hostile work environment requires Marc Dann’s resignation.
I recommend the entire article. Brunner is nothing if not pragmatic. We have to appreciate that. Still…sigh.
An excerpt:
“Marc’s done good work; he’s done good work for this office,” she said. “And I’m grateful to him for the time and the energy and the talent that he and the staff have put into helping us run good elections in the state. Quite frankly, I still need a lot of work from that office and so for as long as Marc’s there I’m going to continue to work with him because we have work to get done for the people of the state.
“To ensure that we’re subjecting the state to the least potential for litigation, we routinely consult with him and we’ll continue to do that,” Brunner said. “And sometimes it means I consult with Marc and I’ll continue to do that because I’ve been provided very good legal service up to this point.”
So, although Brunner is also quoted as saying that, “I do feel that overall what’s occurred makes it difficult for him to be effective as Attorney General and to be effective politically,” she has a job to do that requires that Dann and/or his office does his job and she’s going to continue to expect that.
I guess the only question I would have is, at what cost? At what cost is that work getting done? And to whom?
Sigh.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 7:27 am May 9th, 2008 in Democrats, Gender, Government, Law, Marc Dann, Ohio, Politics, Scandal, Women
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8 Responses to “Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner: On Ohio AG Marc Dann”
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As comedian Lewis Black might say, “I’m confuuuused”.
According to the article, the Secretary of State believes Dann should resign, but isn’t sure if his actions rise to the level of requiring impeachment.
Shouldn’t both judgments be based on the same set of facts? If Dann’s actions or inactions in office were bad enough to warrant a call for his removal from office through resignation then they would also warrant removal from office through impeachment.
If you demand a person’s resignation, you’re saying the person is not doing the job or has made serious mistakes and should be fired.
You are giving him or her the option of honorably leaving but the underlying message is that the person should lose their job.
If the person refuses to leave, they must be fired, which in this case is done through impeachment.
The Governor’s office rush to impeachment was ill-advised as few believe that the offenses as we now understand them rise to the level of impeachment.
Ohio law is vague on this issue but because there were no impeachment during the past century (and we had plenty of scandal during those years) that common and midemeanor crimes like hiring cronies, ineptitude and skirt-chasing are not quite impeachment-level transgressions.
This is not to preclude the possibility that more might be out there. But at this juncture, it is highly unlikely Marc Dann will be impeached by his former peers who are are not unfamiliar with his behavior.
Ms. Sharkey, in a February 26, 2006 Toledo Blade article you were quoted as saying, “The culture has not changed, and it won’t until people are outraged and there are consequences” in reference to the conviction of two former Taft aides for violations of state ethics laws.
I’d like to hope that maybe this time we can nudge the culture just a little toward change. But that will only happen if the people remain outraged and this time, finally, there are consequences.
I agree with Mary Ann….I never heard any calls for resignation when Mrs. Coleman got into trouble in Lee Fisher’s office..she falisfied payroll records & had a DUI…that’s a double standard for unfair treatment of officeholders!
It does look like some Democrats are now leaving an out for Dann, like maybe he can stay.
Thanks for finding an old quote but I think it’s one thing to say there should be consequences and quite another to call for impeachment.
The Akron Beacon Journal called the whole process into question today in an editorial and I understand The Plain Dealer has similar concerns.
I still believe that the Governor’s office did not play this whole scenario through when it issued a rather hot-headed statement.
Marc Dann is fortunate that Rep. Bill Batchelder was named the House’s lead legislator. Bill is eminently fair and will not play partisan politics on such a grave matter.
I am by no means defending Marc Dann’s appalling behavior but I do respect the process. He was elected to his post and I don’t think his reported transgressions rise to impeachment level.
The caveat here is reported to date – that is not to say more things will come to light.
Dann admitted that he was unprepared for the office.
What else do we need to know?
The Shark surfaces, trying to inject common sense to Ohio politics, via blog comments. Good for you, MA.