Published: Saturday, December 9, 2006
Dann justifies backing Cafaro
The attorney general-elect plans to expand the office's presence in the Valley.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN — Attorney General-elect Marc Dann said he thinks he was unjustly criticized for supporting Capri Cafaro to succeed him in the state Senate.
"Capri was the only candidate for that job that has substantive knowledge of government," Dann, a Liberty Democrat, told The Vindicator on Friday.
As an example, Dann said there is a quote from Frederick Douglass, a famed black abolitionist and statesman from the mid-19th century, in the lobby where the candidates to fill his 32nd District seat and the 30th District seat waited to be interviewed.
Cafaro, a Liberty Democrat, was the only candidate interviewed by a four-person screening committee, that included three blacks, who knew something about Douglass, Dann said. Each candidate was asked about Douglass, Dann said.
Dann said that doesn't say much about the knowledge of government of the other candidates, including state Rep. Sandra Stabile Harwood of Niles, D-65th, who was interviewed for the Senate seat.
Also seeking that appointment was ex-state Sen. Anthony A. Latell Jr., a Girard Democrat who is a former Ohio House member, Trumbull County commissioner, Girard council president and city councilman.
Response
When contacted separately by telephone, Stabile Harwood and Latell said the screening committee never asked them about Douglass. But both acknowledged Friday that they've never heard of Douglass.
As for not having "substantive knowledge of government," Stabile Harwood, who won her third term to the Ohio House, said her record of accomplishment "speaks for itself."
Latell said he was "the most successful Democrat in the Senate" during his eight years there in "terms of getting meaningful legislation passed and bringing meaningful dollars back to the district." Latell added that any contention he doesn't have substantive knowledge of government is just rhetoric.
Dann openly endorsed Cafaro, who's lost two congressional races, to replace him in the Senate. He said it had nothing to do with her family's financial support of his campaign. It was because Cafaro was the most qualified candidate for the post, he said.
Plans
Dann said he plans to expand the attorney general office's presence in the Mahoning Valley and move local operations to either downtown Youngstown or Warren.
There are about 20 employees under the jurisdiction of the attorney general, most of them are with the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, at a Boardman office. When the lease on that building expires in June, Dann will move the office to the downtown of either Youngstown or Warren.
He also plans to expand the attorney general's presence in the Mahoning Valley by adding an additional 10 to 20 employees here within two years.
There are 1,275 employees in the attorney general's office. Dann said he plans to increase that number, primarily from reducing the number of outside legal counsel hired by the office.
Dann said he wants to hire people he knows and trusts, meaning Democrats, particularly from Northeast Ohio, to work for him and to serve as outside legal counsel as long as they are qualified for the jobs and are seeking reasonable compensation.
"I want people I trust, but not at an unfair price or without the qualifications," he said. "But I will pick lawyers who I know. ...You need an existing relationship with a client. It's how anyone would choose a lawyer. But if someone's expecting to get something for nothing, it won't happen."
But he also said he plans to interview Republicans who currently hold senior posts in state government for high-level positions in his administration. Dann said a letter was given Friday to the office's 564 employees hired at the attorney general's discretion asking them to submit résumés if they "share my vision" of the office. Republicans have controlled that office for the past 12 years.
Making the move
Dann said he's having trouble persuading people from the Mahoning Valley to move to Columbus to work for him.
Dann said he can't even persuade his wife to move to the state capital.
"They don't want to move," he said.
One of his most significant adjustments, Dann said, is he is going from running a small law firm and serving as only one of 11 Democratic state senators to being attorney general, overseeing 1,275 employees.
"I was hands-on with everything" at his law firm and in the state Senate, he said. "I simply won't be able to do that in the attorney general's office."
Dann said the transition from outgoing Attorney General Jim Petro, a Republican, to him is going smoothly.
Dann said being attorney general is "a very lonely job," and then later called it "probably the best job in the world."
skolnick@vindy.com
Saturday, December 9, 2006
The attorney general-elect plans to expand the office's presence in the Valley.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN — Attorney General-elect Marc Dann said he thinks he was unjustly criticized for supporting Capri Cafaro to succeed him in the state Senate.
"Capri was the only candidate for that job that has substantive knowledge of government," Dann, a Liberty Democrat, told The Vindicator on Friday.
As an example, Dann said there is a quote from Frederick Douglass, a famed black abolitionist and statesman from the mid-19th century, in the lobby where the candidates to fill his 32nd District seat and the 30th District seat waited to be interviewed.
Cafaro, a Liberty Democrat, was the only candidate interviewed by a four-person screening committee, that included three blacks, who knew something about Douglass, Dann said. Each candidate was asked about Douglass, Dann said.
Dann said that doesn't say much about the knowledge of government of the other candidates, including state Rep. Sandra Stabile Harwood of Niles, D-65th, who was interviewed for the Senate seat.
Also seeking that appointment was ex-state Sen. Anthony A. Latell Jr., a Girard Democrat who is a former Ohio House member, Trumbull County commissioner, Girard council president and city councilman.
Response
When contacted separately by telephone, Stabile Harwood and Latell said the screening committee never asked them about Douglass. But both acknowledged Friday that they've never heard of Douglass.
As for not having "substantive knowledge of government," Stabile Harwood, who won her third term to the Ohio House, said her record of accomplishment "speaks for itself."
Latell said he was "the most successful Democrat in the Senate" during his eight years there in "terms of getting meaningful legislation passed and bringing meaningful dollars back to the district." Latell added that any contention he doesn't have substantive knowledge of government is just rhetoric.
Dann openly endorsed Cafaro, who's lost two congressional races, to replace him in the Senate. He said it had nothing to do with her family's financial support of his campaign. It was because Cafaro was the most qualified candidate for the post, he said.
Plans
Dann said he plans to expand the attorney general office's presence in the Mahoning Valley and move local operations to either downtown Youngstown or Warren.
There are about 20 employees under the jurisdiction of the attorney general, most of them are with the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, at a Boardman office. When the lease on that building expires in June, Dann will move the office to the downtown of either Youngstown or Warren.
He also plans to expand the attorney general's presence in the Mahoning Valley by adding an additional 10 to 20 employees here within two years.
There are 1,275 employees in the attorney general's office. Dann said he plans to increase that number, primarily from reducing the number of outside legal counsel hired by the office.
Dann said he wants to hire people he knows and trusts, meaning Democrats, particularly from Northeast Ohio, to work for him and to serve as outside legal counsel as long as they are qualified for the jobs and are seeking reasonable compensation.
"I want people I trust, but not at an unfair price or without the qualifications," he said. "But I will pick lawyers who I know. ...You need an existing relationship with a client. It's how anyone would choose a lawyer. But if someone's expecting to get something for nothing, it won't happen."
But he also said he plans to interview Republicans who currently hold senior posts in state government for high-level positions in his administration. Dann said a letter was given Friday to the office's 564 employees hired at the attorney general's discretion asking them to submit résumés if they "share my vision" of the office. Republicans have controlled that office for the past 12 years.
Making the move
Dann said he's having trouble persuading people from the Mahoning Valley to move to Columbus to work for him.
Dann said he can't even persuade his wife to move to the state capital.
"They don't want to move," he said.
One of his most significant adjustments, Dann said, is he is going from running a small law firm and serving as only one of 11 Democratic state senators to being attorney general, overseeing 1,275 employees.
"I was hands-on with everything" at his law firm and in the state Senate, he said. "I simply won't be able to do that in the attorney general's office."
Dann said the transition from outgoing Attorney General Jim Petro, a Republican, to him is going smoothly.
Dann said being attorney general is "a very lonely job," and then later called it "probably the best job in the world."
skolnick@vindy.com
Saturday, December 9, 2006
Attorney General-elect Marc Dann said he thinks he was unjustly criticized for supporting Capri Cafaro to succeed him in...
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