Keep sexual harassment charges in perspective

By STEPHEN ORAVECZ Tribune Chronicle
The interviews have been completed in the attorney general office’s investigation of sexual harassment charges against a top Marc Dann aide. The e-mails between Dann and his then-scheduler Jessica Utovich have been released.

As the Mahoning Valley waits for the next shoe to drop, this sounds like a good time to step back and assess what is really going on in the attorney general’s office — which some have now dubbed “Dannimal House.”

Some wild things have been said about Dann and his cronies, general services director Anthony Gutierrez and communications director Leo Jennings III.

What exactly is Dann being accused of here?

l It is said he should have known better when he hired Gutierrez and Jennings, who are portrayed as typical examples of what is worst about Mahoning Valley politics. Both have been placed on administrative leave.

The attorney general’s office has not explained the charges against Jennings. A note in one of the sexual harassment complaints suggests that he may have aided Gutierrez in destroying some text. It is unclear if that text included public records or possible evidence in the sexual harassment investigation involving Gutierrez.

When Dann first hired Jennings to manage his campaign, lots of eyebrows were raised across the Mahoning Valley. But when you pin those people down, they may not like Jennings or have their doubts about him, but they do not point to anything specific that would disqualify him from the job Dann hired him to do in Columbus.

Gutierrez, of course, is being accused of sexual harassment and he may have wrecked a state car while drunk. Gutierrez has a history of personal bankruptcy, but that in itself does not show he did not know the construction industry.

Potentially more serious, Gutierrez apparently lied on his job application when he did not report a DUI charge in 2006, and it is well documented that Dann knew about the arrest because he picked up Gutierrez at the Ohio State Highway Patrol post. What does that mean? It is hard to tell. Did Dann know about the omission? You would think human resources would have caught the DUI omission on Gutierrez’s application and raised the issue. It is well documented that background checks early in the administration failed to discover that Dann hired a driver who was convicted of killing a man.

l It is said Dann should have set a more professional tone in the office.

E-mails Dann exchanged with Utovich show a close relationship. At one point, she worried about whether Dann’s children like her and in two other messages, Dann and Utovich talk abut being best friends forever, using the e-mail initials BFF.

And in her sexual harassment complaint against Gutierrez, Cindy Stankoski claims Dann was the person who invited her to the apartment he shared with Gutierrez, and she said Utovich was there in her PJs. In her complaint against Gutierrez, Vanessa Stout said she had been to the apartment Dann, Gutierrez and Jennings shared and ‘‘they all drank a lot’’ and ‘‘all are pigs.’’

All of these allegations have combined to create the Dannimal House image.

Some have wondered if any real work could possibly get done and others have compared Dann to disgraced Valley politicians such as former U.S. Rep. James A.Traficant Jr., who is serving time on corruption charges. Those people are jumping the gun.

The e-mails between Dann and Utovich show no evidence Dann was involved in any sexual harassment, and while his relationship with Utovich was certainly informal, there is nothing to prove it was inappropriate. Dann has denied that Utovich was ever at the apartment in pajamas, and she may have been wearing a light sweatsuit. Dann moved out of the apartment in December.

Through the three months covered in Utovich-Dann e-mails, most concerned business, and they show Dann maintained a hectic schedule. While Dann’s political false steps have taken center stage in Ohio, Dann has gotten positive national attention on many issues.

Many questions remain and the investigations are not finished, but at this point, Dann has not even been accused — much less convicted — of any illegal act. Dann has a ways to go before he ranks with Traficant. Poor judgment may be embarrassing and may have political consequences, but it is not a crime.



Oravecz is politics editor of the Tribune Chronicle. Reach him at soravecz@tribune-chronicle.com.