Endorsement: Register-Guard

October 5, 2004

Attorney general: Myers: Low-key incumbent serves state well

Most Oregonians could not name their attorney general, even though Hardy Myers has held the job for eight years. Apparently, people like it that way. In 1996 and again in 2000, voters could have elected Kevin Mannix, a magnet for the political spotlight, to the position. Instead, Oregonians chose a competent, low-key and reliable advocate for the state's legal interests. Voters should give Myers the third term he says would be his last.

Myers, 64, is a Democrat who earlier in his career served five terms in the state House of Representatives, including two terms as House speaker. Challenging Myers are Libertarian Donald Smith, 30; Constitution Party candidate Richard Hake, 60, and Republican Paul Connolly, 59.

Connolly, a Salem lawyer in private practice who for five years has been counsel to the Oregon Republican Party, is Myers' leading opponent, and this year's race hinges once again on voters' conception of the office. Connolly is a solid challenger, but he would attempt to lead the attorney general's office into areas that ought to be other officials' responsibility.

Connolly says his work representing farms and small businesses has given him an understanding of how rules and regulations affect Oregon's business climate. The attorney general, he believes, should act as a brake on the rulemaking process, subjecting new regulations to a cost-benefit analysis. Such a review might be useful, but the attorney general's office shouldn't provide it. The governor, the Legislature or state agencies themselves should prevent overly burdensome rules from taking effect, while also repealing unneeded or outdated regulations. It's the attorney general's job to advise those agencies and officials, and defend them in case their decisions land them in court.

Similarly, Connolly believes the attorney general needs to take a more aggressive stance against crime, particularly the manufacture of methamphetamine. Yet local officials - sheriffs, district attorneys, city police chiefs - form the front lines of Oregon's law enforcement efforts. The Department of State Police was originally founded to assist local law enforcement agencies, and though its mission has expanded in scope, it is responsible to the governor. The attorney general can and does act as an advocate for police and prosecutors, but is not the state's chief law enforcement officer.

Connolly credits Myers with having assembled a talented staff, and that's important - the Department of Justice acts as the state's law firm, providing advice and defending against legal challenges. It's also the people's law firm, defending policies adopted by the voters or their representatives. In addition, the attorney general has important responsibilities in the areas of consumer protection, anti-trust, child support enforcement and crime victims' assistance, and Myers can point to progress in each of those areas.

Myers' greatest achievement, however, is one that manifests itself in silence. Oregon's government is deeply divided along partisan lines, yet there are remarkably few complaints of political spin from the attorney general's office. Myers is trusted to play it straight - he successfully defended Oregon's assisted suicide law, for instance, despite his personal opposition to the voter-approved initiative. A Republican Legislature and a Democratic governor alike have learned to rely on Myers for sound advice and vigorous defense. Myers deserves re-election.