by Marc Kovac
Capital Bureau Chief
State lawmakers slowed the Impeach Marc Dann juggernaut May 6, vowing to take the necessary time to formulate what would be a precedent-setting action against an office-holder.
Republican and Democratic leaders of the Ohio House continued to call for the beleaguered Attorney General to step down, but none offered resolutions from the floor during Tuesday's voting session to launch a formal impeachment process.
"The Attorney General should resign from office," Speaker Jon Husted, a Republican from Kettering, told reporters afterward. "That would save the state and the taxpayers a lot of pain and anguish and expense, rather than going through a formal process."
He added, "I think there is a big difference between asking someone to resign and moving forward with an impeachment process. What we do will set the standard for how anyone will be impeached in this state going forward, and that is a serious constitutional concern, an important precedent, and we need to take it with that seriousness and that responsibility."
The May 6 floor sessions in the House and the Ohio Senate marked the first formal gatherings of lawmakers since the Attorney General's Office fired two employees and forced another to resign May 2. The action capped a weeks-long investigation into sexual harassment allegations made by two female employees against their manager.
Anthony Gutierrez and Leo Jennings were discharged from their state positions, and Ed Simpson resigned rather than facing the same. Dann admitted cronyism in his office's hiring practices, said he was not adequately prepared for his elected position, apologized for carrying on an affair with an individual he would not name and vowed to clean up the tarnished image of his administration.
On May 5, Gov. Ted Strickland and all major Democratic office-holders in the state called on the Attorney General to step down or face impeachment. Dann, so far, has refused, vowing to employees in his office that they would continue to work together for the good of the state.
In light of the potential impeachment action in the House, Husted appointed Rep. Bill Batchelder, a Republican from Medina and former judge, to review the required process, determine whether the facts merit the action and, if so, develop the necessary articles. He told reporters May 6 he expected to hear a report on the findings of that process by the end of the week.
"I know that there are a lot of people who want to have the issue resolved immediately," Husted said. "But we need to make sure we have all of the facts, that we have grounds ... I don't want to presume anything at this point in time. That's the reason we have a thoughtful process that we're trying to undertake and make sure that whatever we do is done responsibly and done in a way that will endure the test of time.."
He added, "Rushing into this in a way that would be reckless would not only be a process that wouldn't do justice to the current situation but would be precedent-setting going forward."
Senate President Bill Harris, a Republican from Ashland, said his chamber is reviewing the state's constitution to prepare for any action the House decides.
"That process has not been used very often, so we want to make sure we know exactly what our responsibilities are," he said. "We'll be ready in the event that that happens to fulfill our obligations under the constitution."
He added, "There's a tremendous amount of trust and confidence and responsibility that the voters entrust to all of us. I think that when that trust has been compromised, then I think one has to take personal responsibility to do what's right and not what they'd like to ..."
Marc Kovac is the Dix Newspapers Capital Bureau chief.
E-mail him at mkovac@dixcom.com.