Rex Elliott, the Columbus attorney representing Cindy Stankoski and Vanessa Stout, told The Dispatch that the offer was made by Niki Schwartz, an attorney who unsuccessfully attempted to mediate the complaints last year on behalf of interim Attorney General Nancy H. Rogers.

The proposed settlement, described by Schwartz as being "in the neighborhood" of $200,000, was "completely unacceptable," Elliott said. It included the stipulation that both women resign. Stout already quit Dec. 19; Stankoski is on extended leave.

Elliott proposed a $900,000 settlement, including legal fees, as compensation for persistent sexual harassment during the women's employment under the supervision of Anthony Gutierrez, Dann's friend and former general services administrator.

The rejection means that Democrat Richard Cordray, the attorney general-elect, will inherit the issue when he is sworn in at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Former Columbus City Councilman Kevin L. Boyce, Gov. Ted Strickland's appointee for Cordray's old job of state treasurer, will be sworn in immediately afterward.

In a statement to The Dispatch, Cordray said, "We are sure all parties would like to put this matter behind them if there is a reasonable basis for doing so and we look forward to entering into discussions that would help to achieve that result."

Cordray won the Nov. 4 election and the right to complete the final two years of Dann's term. Dann, a Democrat, resigned May 14 in the midst of a scandal that developed quickly in April after complaints by Stankoski and Stout opened the floodgates.

"We've remained consistent," Elliott said. "We want to get this resolved. To this day, since we made our original offer in June, we still don't have an official counteroffer."

Littler Mendelson, a law firm hired by Rogers' office to negotiate a settlement, has received $41,198 thus far, more than twice the amount originally budgeted. Schwartz has not yet been paid, attorney general spokesman Ted Hart said.

Although Cordray will inherit the legal dispute from Rogers, the outgoing and incoming attorneys general moved quickly to purge the last remaining employees who bore even a trace of scandal from Dann's days or were too close to the former attorney general.

Tomi L. Dorris, whom Dann named as head of the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy, submitted her resignation. Dorris' appointment was controversial because Dann had bypassed the commission's pick of an executive director in favor of her, and because she had been dating Dann's chief of staff at the time.

Dorris is going to a new $79,310-a-year post in the Ohio Department of Insurance dealing with fraud prevention.

Jennifer L. Urban, a staff attorney who had alleged sexual harassment by Gutierrez and Dann's top spokesman, Leo Jennings III, was fired. Last week, the office rejected Urban's claims of harassment.

Other Dann appointees to be let go included Craig Mehall, a friend of the former attorney general whom Dann hired to lobby in Washington; Beverly Staten, who was Dann's aide in the state Senate and special-projects director in the attorney general's office; Jennifer Brindisi, a former Youngstown television reporter whom Dann hired as a spokeswoman; and Michelle Gatchell, an office spokeswoman who also had worked for former Attorney General Jim Petro.

ajohnson@dispatch.com

jnash@dispatch.com