Endorsement: Mail Tribune

Re-elect Hardy Myers

Paul Connolly is an experienced attorney and an articulate candidate for Oregon Attorney General. But he sounds more like a legislator.

Connolly, a Republican from Salem, wants to replace Democrat Hardy Myers, who has led the state Justice Department for seven years. The job is important, though not often in the limelight.

Connolly would take it there with gusto. But he seems to want to make the office into a mirror of the U.S. Justice Department, which oversees the FBI and federal prosecutors across the country. Oregon’s attorney general has no authority over the sheriff’s police chiefs and district attorneys who enforce criminal statutes.

Connolly wants to push for get-tough-on-crime legislation, especially to battle the methamphetamine epidemic plaguing the state. He also wants to get rid of state regulations he considers unfriendly to business. Those aren’t necessarily bad ideas, but the attorney general isn’t the official who needs to — or should — do them.

If Connolly wants to get tough on criminals and eliminate regulations he considers anti-business, he should run for the Legislature.

Myers has done a good job of representing state agencies, defending the state’s voter-approved assisted suicide law against attacks by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, protecting consumers against fraud and beefing up protections for victims of crime. He acted quickly when Multnomah County suddenly began issuing same-sex marriage licenses, arranging a deal to get the case heard quickly by the state Supreme Court.

The Libertarian in the race, Don Smith, has a law degree but currently works as a bank loan officer. His legal experience is too limited for the wide-ranging duties of attorney general.

We recommend a vote for Hardy Myers.