Dann had dizzying 8 years in politics

By STEPHEN ORAVECZ Tribune Chronicle
Betty Montgomery tried to make experience the main issue in the 2006 race for attorney general. She brought up Marc Dann’s reprimand by the Ohio Supreme Court and his limited experience managing a law firm.

Then as his hold on the office was unraveling last week, Dann virtually admitted that Montgomery had been right. Trying to explain what went wrong, Dann, who resigned Wednesday, said May 2 he was surprised he actually had won and was unprepared for the challenges that lay ahead.

During the campaign Dann told a different story. In the primary, electability was an issue, and Dann repeatedly said he was confident he could beat Montgomery, the odds-on-favorite

At the Cleveland City Club debate just before the November 2006 vote, Dann closed by saying, ‘‘I simply refuse to accept that someone who spent his life representing ordinary people is not qualified to represent all of the people of Ohio.’’

In those days, Dann was at his peak and had resurrected a political career that was on the rocks in 2000. A message seeking comment from Dann was not immediately returned.

Dann ran for state senate in the 2000 Democratic primary but finished third behind Tim Ryan, now a congressman from Niles, and Darlene St. George, Howland administrator. The next year, Dann went back to basics, winning a seat on the Liberty school board.

He got his first big break when Ryan surprised everyone to win the 17th District congressional race in 2002. Democrats reportedly were looking for someone who was electable and a good fundraiser to fill Ryan’s seat. With strong backing from labor, Dann got the nod and proved he could win a re-election and, especially, raise money.

In his first year in office in 2003, Dann raised $120,000, enough that he could seriously begin eyeing a position in the Democratic Party’s leadership team.

An analysis of Dann’s 2006 campaign contributions by Ohio Citizen Action, a nonprofit government watchdog group, found ideological entities, including the Democratic Party, led the giving to Dann. Second most generous were lawyers, who gave a combined $566,412, followed by unions ($317,340), real estate ($105,167), finance ($91,825), business services ($76,365), manufacturing ($67,541), food & beverage ($46,960), gambling interests ($46,057) and health ($43,497).

In the Senate, Dann became a leader in the fight to regulate construction and demolition debris landfills, and he championed campaign finance reform laws. He also rivaled other senators in the sheer number of bills he introduced.

Then in 2005, it was learned that the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation had invested $50 million in rare coins, and much of the investment was lost. The so-called ‘‘Coingate’’ scandal spread to other questionable investments.

Dann became the lead Democrat looking into Coingate, filing public records requests with Republican Gov. Bob Taft’s office that led to a state Supreme Court decision on executive privilege.

Ironically, when Republicans later filed sweeping open records requests with his attorney general administration, Dann criticized them as overbroad.

With Coingate, Dann’s prospects skyrocketed. He enjoyed unusually high name recognition for a state senator and a growing reputation as a politician who would fight corruption. He decided to run for attorney general.

Almost immediately Republicans started firing back at Dann. They brought up tax liens on his business and the reprimand from the Supreme Court for mistakes in a divorce case. Commenting on the tax liens, Dann said, ‘‘I have never violated the ethical standards of my office or of my profession and I never will.’’

In the primary, Dann faced Cleveland attorney Subodh Chandra.

On the campaign trail Dann said, ‘‘The people of Ohio are ready for a normal person with a normal life to be attorney general, not someone who spent their entire career in government jobs. ... I represented ordinary people who faced financial challenges and family tragedies. That will make me a better attorney general than anyone Ohio’s had in recent years.’’

About his mistakes, Dann said, ‘‘I’m a person who takes responsibility when things go wrong.’’

Dann easily defeat Chandra. That set up the face-off with Montgomery, the state auditor who already had served two terms as attorney general. He stunned the pundits and defeated Montgomery.

Under Dann, the Attorney General’s Office gained a national reputation as he tried to break new ground in holding banks responsible for their role in the subprime mortgage and foreclosure crisis.

At the same time, though, his administration was plagued almost from the start with political and administrative missteps, leading up to the sexual harassment scandal that forced him to resign Wednesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.



soravecz@tribune-chronicle.com