COLUMBUS — Gov. Ted Strickland and other Democratic leaders on Monday called on scandal-scarred Attorney General Marc Dann to resign, but Dann said in an e-mail to staffers Monday that he has no intention of doing so.

Strickland, Sen. Sherrod Brown, Dann’s fellow Democratic state officeholders and all Democratic state legislators sent Dann a letter imploring him to step down. 

On Friday, Dann admitted to an extramarital affair with a subordinate after findings in an unrelated sexual harassment investigation threatened to reveal the relationship.

Dann’s actions irreparably harmed his ability to do his job, the leaders wrote in a letter penned Sunday night after a grueling weekend of contemplation.

“The work of the Office of the Attorney General matters more, and is far more important, than any one person,” the letter said. “In many, many cases it is all that stands between the people and the powerful. Sadly, we no longer have even the most remote hope that you can continue to effectively serve as Attorney General and that is why we are asking for your resignation.”

Dann, a surprising victor in the 2006 near-sweep by Democrats of statewide office, conceded that his own behavior had contributed to an atmosphere in the office that permitted two junior staffers to be harassed and threatened by a friend and neighbor whom he had hired as an aide.

However, Dann insisted he is still capable of carrying on his work as the state’s lawyer and top law enforcement officer.

"I am in the office, have rolled up my sleeves and am working on behalf of the people of the state of Ohio," Dann wrote in his e-mail.

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