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Democrat Hopelessly Mired in Scandal Likely to Stay in Office Until September 25th

May 3rd, 2008 at 04:45pm Mark Noonan

Why? Because if he does, that will save the seat for the Democrats:

If Marc Dann (D-OH) were to resign on or before Sept. 24, Gov. Ted Strickland (D-OH) would name someone to replace him until a special election Nov. 4 installed the person who would serve the rest of Dann’s term, through 2010.

If Dann resigned after Sept. 24, the governor would appoint someone to serve the remainder of Dann’s term.

Dann has got a lot of problems:

Timeline of a scandal

April 6, 2008: The Dispatch reports that the attorney general’s office is trying to settle sexual harassment complaints filed Monday, March 31, 2008, by two women against a supervisor in the office. Vanessa Stout and Cindy Stankoski both allege that Anthony Gutierrez, a section chief for Dann, sexually harassed them at work or in the Dublin condo once shared by Gutierrez, Dann and Leo Jennings III, Dann’s communication chief.

April 7, 2008: Dann places Anthony Gutierrez, his director of general services, on paid leave while an investigation is conducted into complaints that he sexually harassed two female staff members, Vanessa Stout and Cindy Stankoski.

April 8, 2008: Dann removes himself from the investigation into sexual harassment complaints against Anthony Gutierrez.

April 11, 2008: Dann’s office denies a request from The Dispatch under Ohio’s public records law to review three months’ worth of e-mail messages between him and his then-scheduler, Jessica Utovich.

April 14, 2008: Leo Jennings III becomes the second of Dann’s administrators — as well as his second former roommate — to be suspended as part of an investigation into sexual-harassment allegations by two female employees.

April 16, 2008: Dann brushes off any suggestion that he might resign as a result of sexual-harassment allegations bedeviling his office, saying the notion of stepping down “has never crossed my mind.”

April 18, 2008: Cindy Stankoski files a criminal complaint against Gutierrez with Columbus police.

April 21, 2008: Dann releases 2,300 e-mails, mostly from last fall, between Dann and his scheduler, Jessica Utovich, in response to a Dispatch request. Nothing relating to an ongoing sexual-harassment probe was immediately apparent.

April 22, 2008: Columbus police announce they will not file charges against Gutierrez. Police said there was no evidence that a criminal act took place.

April 24, 2008: The Dispatch reports that Gutierrez apparently crashed his state-owned vehicle in October. The Attorney General’s handling of the incident is being reviewed. The Ohio Department of Administrative Services faulted Dann’s office and Gutierrez for failing to fill out an accident report after the crash.

April 27, 2008: The Dispatch reports that e-mail and interview accounts indicate that the Attorney General’s office has a staff culture of swearing and after-hours drinking.

April 29, 2008: The Dispatch reports that Dann has asked for a “thorough review” of policies and procedures in the department previously supervised by Anthony Gutierrez.

May 1, 2008: Dann’s top nonlegal adviser, Edgar C. Simpson, resigns instead of being fired. Jessica Utovich, Dann’s scheduler, resigns.

May 2, 2008: Anthony Gutierrez and Leo Jennings III are fired after an internal investigation of the sexual harassment complaints is released. Shortly afterwards, Dann holds a press conference and admits to having an affair.

As Matt and I discovered in writing Caucus of Corruption, Democrats will never do the right thing unless there is a risk to Democratic power. The only way for the Democrats to ensure there is a Democrat in Dann’s seat until 2010 is for Dann to cling to office until September 25th, so you just watch: he won’t quit unless it becomes clear that there is the necessary marjority for impeachment in the State legislature (and the odds that the Democrats will provide that necessary majority are very, very small; it’ll take a groundswell of citizen outrage to produce this…something which puts Democrats in a general risk for November).

So it goes with the Democrats - all is ok, as long as power is preserved or extended. If this were a GOPer, his fellow Republicans would have forced him out by now.

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Entry Filed under: Corruption, Democrats


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