Columbus - Republican candidate for Ohio Attorney General Mike Crites today said that if elected, he will create a series of merit-based legal fellowships and other incentives within the Ohio Attorney General's office to help restore the reputation of the office that was damaged by disgraced former Attorney General Marc Dann.
"It took Marc Dann sixteen short months to destroy what previous Attorneys General took years to build - a national reputation for legal excellence in the Ohio Attorney General's office," Crites said. "Our fellowship program and other incentives will build upon the good work of Attorney General Nancy Rogers to restore workplace morale by letting the legal community know we're serious about retaining and attracting the best and brightest legal minds and providing the highest-quality legal services on behalf of Ohio taxpayers."
Crites will place fellowships in areas that have the greatest impact on taxpayers' bottom line - consumer protection, health care fraud and charitable law, among others. Crites also plans to create one-time nominal cash incentives for attorneys who become leaders in bar associations or other community groups that are committed to issues important to the work the office, such as domestic violence prevention and programming to help seniors or at-risk youth.
Crites also intends to reinstitute the Attorney General's Award for Professionalism, a program created by former Attorney General Betty Montgomery. The program recognized Attorney General staffers who displayed outstanding levels of professionalism on behalf of the office. Recipients received recognition at the office's annual all-staff meeting.
Crites noted that his administration will shine more light on the good work of the fellows and other program honorees through internal and external recognition, including a new section of the office's website dedicated to highlighting the honorees through photos, biographies and interviews.
The programs will be part of Crites' office reorganization and funded through existing budget resources.
One such Attorney General fellowship already in place is the Simon Karas Fellowship. The fellowship was created in 1999 in honor of Simon B. Karas who passed away in December 1998. Karas was well-known for his appellate work and his expertise in ethics. During his 26-year career he served in the administrations of William J. Brown, Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr., Lee Fisher and Betty Montgomery.
"Morale is critically important to the office and its ability to do its work and attract good employees," Montgomery said. "The Simon Karas Fellowship was created to honor Si's integrity and commitment to public service. It reflects the quality of his life's work and underscores the fact that the work of the office must focus on serving the public and not politics. I'm glad to see that Mike Crites is committed to taking this kind of recognition to the next level."
"Throughout the legal community in Ohio, I've heard the stories - the spirit and morale of the office are at an all-time low," Crites said. "No professional wants to be the butt of a joke. Unfortunately, that's what the careless actions of power-hungry career politician Marc Dann did. Ohio doesn't need another career politician. It needs an Attorney General who is committed to the long-term betterment of an office that once-enjoyed national recognition for its legal excellence."
Crites has a 21-year record of public service as a federal, state, and local prosecutor. He was appointed in 1986 to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio by then-President Ronald Reagan, a position he held until 1993. In this role he was responsible for all federal law enforcement in 48 of 88 Ohio counties. A decorated U.S. Navy Captain, Crites was inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame and is a veteran of the Vietnam War. At the peak of his Navy career he helped manage 7,300 personnel.
Delicious
Digg
Technorati
