Democrats take different views on Ohio A.G. impeachment

By JULIE CARR SMYTH

AP Statehouse Correspondent

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Urging impeachment was a radical step that Ohio Democrats are ill-advised to carry through, a former longtime chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party said Friday.

"There has been a reason for not doing this for 200 years. The people back then were smart people too, and they realized that it is not an efficient or effective tool," said Paul Tipps, who led the state party for eight years.

Gov. Ted Strickland, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and state Rep. Chris Redfern, the current party chairman, joined other top Democrats Sunday in urging Attorney General Marc Dann to resign, threatening to pursue impeachment if he didn't.

Dann, 46, admitted Friday to an extramarital affair with an employee and three aides were forced out in a sexual harassment scandal that Dann acknowledged was fueled by cronyism and setting a bad example. He refuses to resign, saying his actions have not warranted it.

Tipps, a family friend of Dann's, said he believes members of the party's Executive Committee are wrestling with how to vote Saturday on the question of rescinding their 2006 endorsement of Dann. He said he has been in discussions with many within the party, including officeholders.

"I think they are aware that pouring more gas on the fire isn't necessarily going to get them the result they want, which is a resignation," Tipps said.

Hamilton County Democratic Chairman Tim Burke, president of the Democratic County Chairs' Association, said the message the chairs want to send Dann is that they want him out of office.

"Based on reactions I have gotten so far from other county chairs around the state, obviously there is incredible disappointment with what has happened," Burke said. "I think that from what I am hearing the overwhelming majority of county chairs would prefer that Marc Dann resign."

Ann Reno, executive chair of the Clinton County Democrats' executive committee, said she is torn on how to vote Saturday.

"I don't know what all they have. If it's just an affair, I'm not sure that's enough," she said.

Montgomery County Democratic Chairman Mark Owens said he supports stripping Dann of his 2006 endorsement. Already, the party has removed Dann's name from its Web site.

"I think Attorney General Dann's actions have sullied the office," Owens said. "As Democrats, we hold are officeholders to high standards and I'd be inclined to support what Chairman Redfern is putting forward."

Strickland continued to stand firm on the issue Friday.

"The governor does believe there is a case for impeachment, and he supports the House continuing to build an unassailable case," Dailey said.

In an interview with The Columbus Dispatch, however, Strickland said he left the door open to Dann not being impeached, saying he would not support a positive vote on an impeachment resolution if the evidence doesn't warrant his support.

Republican House Speaker Jon Husted was expected Friday to get a verbal report on how the impeachment process will unfold, said spokeswoman Karen Stivers. State Rep. Bill Batchelder, a Medina Republican, is unndertaking a review of the state law and Ohio's past impeachments -- the most recent of which was in 1820.

House Democratic Leader Joyce Beatty's staff is also working on drafting an impeachment resolution, Dailey said.

The House's approval of such a resolution has a role similar to an indictment in a criminal case. The issue would then go to the Ohio Senate, which would hold a trial and either convict or acquit Dann of the charges leveled by the House.

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Associated Press Writer Stephen Majors contributed to this report.