COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and other top Ohio Democrats are calling on Attorney General Marc Dann to resign.

Strickland, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, Dann's fellow Democratic state officeholders and all Democratic state lawmakers have sent Dann a letter Monday urging him to step down.

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

Here is the text of the Governor's letter to Dann:

Dear Attorney General Dann,

We write to you tonight to ask that you resign your position as Attorney General of the State of Ohio.

We believe that your actions have irreparably harmed your ability to effectively serve the people of our great state.

The work of the Office of the Attorney General matters more, and is far more important, than any one person. 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.

We also want to make you aware that if you do not choose to resign, Democratic members of the Ohio House of Representatives will immediately introduce a resolution seeking your impeachment. We sincerely hope that this action will not be necessary and that you will act in the best interest of the people of Ohio by tendering your resignation Monday morning.

Sincerely,

Ted Strickland Governor

Sherrod Brown U.S. Senator

Lee Fisher Lt. Governor

Jennifer Brunner Secretary of State

Richard Cordray Treasurer

Ray Miller Senate Minority Leader

Joyce Beatty Chris Redfern

Chairman, Ohio Democratic Party House Minority Leader

Dann responded with an email to all employees on his staff.

Here is the text of that email:

All --

Last night, I received a call from Governor Strickland advising me that he and the other statewide Democratic office holders along with the minority leaders of the House and Senate were planning to ask me to resign today.

That letter has been sent.

I wanted to share with you what I told the Governor.

I told him that he and the other officeholders, as well as the members of the legislature, should continue to expect that we will continue to provide high-quality legal services to all of them. I told the Governor that we will continue to make our law enforcement partnerships work to protect the people of the State of Ohio.

I told him that our consumer protection and environmental protection and civil rights work will continue on behalf of the State of Oho

That is exactly what I am doing today. I am in the office, have rolled up my sleeves and am working on behalf of the people of State of Ohio.

I hope all of you will do the same.

I think that there is a great chance that we can continue to do great work for the people of the State.

I know that this is difficult, and I am truly sorry to have put all of you in this position.

But our work is too important to do anything but our jobs today.

Marc Dann