Marc Dann: Bringing back accountability

Bringing back accountability Ohio Attorney General Dann speaks at local Democratic dinner ROSE COOPER County Editor The Wilmington New Journal Online, May 24, 2007 "In this job, I have the power to change people's lives every day. And what's really tragic is that for 12 years that power went unused. My staff and I - I'm proud to say - are using that power every day on behalf of the people in the state of Ohio." Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann, who took office on Jan. 8, talked about some of the accomplishments made during his first 4 1/2 months in office when he was in Wilmington Wednesday night to speak at the annual spring dinner of the Clinton County Democratic Party. Dann was introduced by David Fierst, managing attorney in the Cincinnati Attorney General's office. He called the attorney general's office the best job in the world. "My job became incredible on the first day," he told the large crowd of Democrats. "About 8 o'clock in the morning on my first day on the job my most difficult client called me and asked me if I was interested in helping him ignite a constitutional crisis. "That was when Ted Strickland called about wanting to veto Senate Bill 117 which was an anti-consumer bill - a bill that I opposed in the legislature ... . Actually, in the truly last act of courage, Bob Taft neither signed or vetoed the bill. That day taught me a couple lessons. One, about doing what's right. The second was about how important transitions and how really seamlessly in our democracy we move from one person's leadership to another person's leadership." Dann said Gov. Strickland vetoed the bill on his first day in office, the last day he had under the constitution to veto the bill. "I personally argued the case in the Ohio Supreme Court a couple of weeks ago. I feel very positive about the argument that I made. When it's a constitutional issue at stake, the attorney general should argue the case. "In this job, I have the power to change people's lives every day. And what's really tragic is that for 12 years that power went unused. My staff and I - I'm proud to say - are using that power every day on behalf of the people in the state of Ohio." Dann stressed the importance of electing a Democrat president in 2008. The road to the presidency, just like in 2000 and 2004, runs through Ohio, he said. He urged everyone to talk to their independent and Republican friends about whether or not they are satisfied with what they are getting from government; about whether or not they are satisfied with the direction our country is taking in foreign policy, whether we should be at war. "If Democrats can be successful in office in Ohio, then that helps you make the argument for 2008, what change will mean at the federal level, what it will mean to have a Democrat president in 2008." He also talked about his office "taking on" AOL/Time Warner. "On behalf of the public employees pension funds in the state, I represent the third largest set of public pensions in Ohio. We have brought several security fraud actions. One pending when I took office was against AOL/Time Warner, the fraud that took place when they merged. There was massive fraud. When I took office, the offer the case was zero. We called Time Warner to come into the office. We negotiated what has become one of the largest security fraud settlements on behalf of Ohio's pension funds in history - $175 million." Dann said his office has brought transparency and accountability to state government and the office is fighting for consumers every day and working hard to rid our state of predatory lenders who are destroying neighborhoods and far too many communities. These bogus loans were cooked up on Wall Street and are resold to bond holders. They are causing havoc with middle class and working class homeowners all throughout Ohio. "We have the first injunction in the country against one of those predatory lenders - New Century Financial. They cannot foreclose on a house in Ohio unless the commerce director and I tell them it's okay. That's a huge victory for the consumers. We're going to take this fight all the way to Wall Street. They took those loans and packaged them together, then sold them as bonds. They made billions of dollars. We're going to get some of that back for the homeowners in the state of Ohio." He said his office is forming partnerships with local law enforcement officers and prosecutors throughout the state, both Democrats and Republicans working hand in hand. "We're going to have the best crime lab in the country at BCI (Bureau of Criminal Identification). We already have a great one but we're going to have a better one, with the best technology, everything you see on "CSI" (Crime Scene Investigation).