MOUNT VERNON — Several local voters are doing the same thing state officials are doing — calling for Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann to step down.
Dann is in hot water over a sexual harassment scandal in his office and an extramarital affair with a subordinate. Several members of his office have been fired, including aide Anthony Gonzalez and Communications Director Leo Jennings. Dann’s policy chief, Ed Simpson, resigned.
“Absolutely [he should resign],” said Barbara Chadwick of Martinsburg. “Everybody else got canned, why not him?
“He should be held to a higher standard because he’s attorney general. His job is to go after the bad guys and now he’s not going to be able to do the job as well.”
“Inevitably, I think he’ll resign. He has no other choice,” said Thomas Metcalf of Fredericktown. “Because of the political fallout, he’s put himself in a position where he’ll never receive any support. His actions have strongly affected the way people will deal with him. ... It’s sad because there are plenty of good people who work with him.”
Eileen Diehl of Mount Vernon also feels Dann needs to get out of office.
“I feel sorry for him, but he created this mess,” Diehl said. “I think he just got mixed up with the wrong people.”
State lawmakers have discussed bringing impeachment charges against Dann, a Democrat, but are hoping he will step down instead. For impeachment proceedings to go forward, Dann must have committed a wrong act, according to the state constitution. Ohio has not used the impeachment process since 1820.
If Dann resigns or is impeached, Gov. Ted Strickland will appoint a successor, and voters would need to confirm that pick at the polls on Nov. 4.
“I’m sure whoever is picked will start under a dark cloud and that the governor will pick someone squeaky clean,” said Metcalf.
Chadwick doesn’t think the scandal is a party problem, but a political problem.
“There are no good guys or bad guys, they’re all equally guilty,” she said. “All of them can equally get into their own mess. It’s not a party thing, it’s a human thing.”
