'Consensual affair' wasn't fair to women in Dann's life - Connie Schultz

[OhioBlue]

I'm glad Connie wrote this.

Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann insists that his extramarital affair with a subordinate was consensual.

That suggests an equal footing. It also suggests that Dann thinks the rest of us are as dimwitted as the buddies he fired last week.

Jessica Utovich was virtually half Dann's age, had a smidgeon of his higher education, earned about a third of his income and was employed at his mercy. If you can ignore all that, then maybe it's possible to think the boss and his scheduler really were equals in this equation.

http://www.cleveland.com/schultz/index.ssf?/base/living-0/1210149009251220.xml&coll=2

She wrote the column before Dann resigned, but I wanted to post it here. I met Jessica during the '06 campaign and my heart goes out to her. I know she isn't without blame, but she was taken advantage of by her boss. Even if it was "consensual", he is the one that held the power.

[MeDeMax]

1. my read on it...

as best as I can tell, he is an emotional abuser. He treated her and her work as sub-standard, which made her feel deficient and try harder.

I have known men and women like him, who prey on others thru emotional blackmail.

But I don't feel your level of empathy for her.

[AngryOldDem]

2. I see both your points.

1) These situations always boil down to an imbalance of power. While "romantic feelings" might be there, ultimately it is a relationship between a superior and a subordinate. It's toxic. Period. And like any toxicity, it spreads.

2) The staffer knew what she was getting into. She went into this with her eyes wide open. I will do her the courtesy, at least, of recognizing that and not treating her like a starry-eyed schoolgirl.

3) I cannot believe how vulnerable Dann left himself and the AGs office by engaging in this behavior.

[OhioBlue]

3. Like I said, I met her in '06

She worked her butt off for the campaign. Lit drops and stuffing envelopes in Summit, putting out yard signs in Richland, organizing an event in Wayne, entering call sheets from Ashland, etc. She never stopped and never slowed down. I always had a good opinion of her and she felt like a friend even tho I only met her a few times.

Dann on the other hand, I never had a good feeling about him. I met him twice.

So, much of my concern for her is b/c I liked her and felt she was a good person. I have no idea why she let herself get into this mess. The facts are (as Connie Schultz points out) Dann was her boss, he was twice her age and held the power. My gut tells me he manipulated her and she is in emotional hell right now. But, as I said before, I know she is not without blame.

[ladym55]

4. There is something else disturbing here

The Danns of the world abuse their power and assume that their position gives them access to whatever and whomever they want.

I'm bothered by a culture that continues to send messages to young women that having sex with their bosses is a good career move. I expect that Jessica Utovich thought this was a good career move and was told it was by a much older and slimy boss. Now she discovers that she is out of a job and her name is all over the newspapers and not in a good way.

We get all indignant about sexual harassment on the one hand, but then make sure young women know that their "hotness" is their greatest professional asset, not their job skills and not their intelligence. It puts young women in an awful place.

[MeDeMax]

5. I am not sure what you are referring to...

"I'm bothered by a culture that continues to send messages to young women that having sex with their bosses is a good career move."

dear ladym, would you please clarify who, in your opinion, signaled to JU that consenting would be a good career move for her ?

From what I understand, she received a raise, so it was a good career move for her. She could have walked away from it at any time with a good letter of reference and if Dann had threatened her, she needed to make one phone call to - the dispatch, the PD, the enquirer or the DDN. His high profile public service would have come to a crashing halt.

Ruthless, ambitious individuals attract groupies, because the groupies know that there are vacant seats to the right and the left of the leader. Problem is, Dann got busted before he could achieve higher office.

Power corrupts anyone who views it as a free pass to be reckless. The same thing could have happened with a lady boss & male subordinate.

The difference is women tend to be much smarter about it and the subordinate males often view the affair as a badge of honor :-)

I am sorry to disagree with you, but I am bothered by a culture where tax payer funds go into hiring state employees without meritocracy. I am bothered by the fact that the public thinks it is okay for Dann, or any other elected official including the President, to hire anyone they like for any position.

Public school teachers and administrators often get hired for reasons other than meritocracy. What you end up with, are substandard hires who owe their allegiance to the hirer and not the public.

The firing of the US attorneys was one instance where suppression of meritocracy exposed the corrupt intent. But such revelations are rare.

[ladym55]

6. I think we are coming from different directions

Like you, I'm appalled that so many jobs are filled by party hacks. I had a close friend and talented administrator(an Independent!) get forced out of his position by a politician who needed one more position for a party insider. (I apologize for being vague here, but I can't name names or jobs without causing problems.) So I'm NOT happy that Dann's office was populated with his buddies and treated like a frat party.

I'm talking about something bigger ... a pervasive culture in our country that sends messages to young women that sex is STILL the way to career success. There are laws to protect women now that didn't exist when I first entered the work force. I take them seriously because I was so grateful when those protections came into place. So I'm frustrated when young women like JU have affairs with their much older married bosses. Young women get the message that life is all about being sexy and using sex for rewards. JU has no job now. She didn't figure that part out. There is still a double standard. Young women are willingly choosing to be sex objects ... and that bothers me. I know how hard it has been for women to get respect in the workplace. This doesn't help any.