Pence for attorney general
Hoosiers are fortunate in having two qualified and competent candidates vying to serve as attorney general. Incumbent Steve Carter decided not to seek re-election, but the race between the Democratic candidate, Linda Pence, and the Republican candidate, Greg Zoeller, still comes down to a choice between the status quo or reinvigorating the office.
Voters should choose Pence. She is the more experienced attorney and has a management plan that should improve the functioning of the attorney general’s office.
Pence, 58, has 34 years of experience as a trial lawyer. She worked 10 years for the U.S. Department of Justice, where she prosecuted against fraud, embezzlement and price gouging. She later opened her own law firm and then became a partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister in Indianapolis.
She already has experience fighting for justice for the people of Indiana. She won a record $14 million settlement for Hoosiers against corporations that were illegally dumping chemicals into the White River, killing tons of fish.
Her experience in the Justice Department will well serve Hoosiers. Some may think her objective to make the office function more as a miniature Justice Department is overly ambitious. But her goal of using the office to supplement the needs of counties with fewer prosecutorial resources is worthy of consideration. And her specific focus on zealous protection of children from predators is welcome.
Zoeller, 53, has served as Attorney General Carter’s chief deputy since 2001. He is a qualified and competent candidate who understands the inner workings of Carter’s office.
One pledge in his campaign, like that of Gov. Mitch Daniels, is to increase protection for teachers against nuisance lawsuits. But state law already protects teachers from unwarranted prosecution. There is no need to expand those laws, and Daniels and Zoeller have failed to provide any evidence that lawsuits are a problem for Hoosier teachers.
Pence’s legal experience is more wide-ranging than her opponent’s, and she deserves Hoosiers’ votes. Tuesday: Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Grand Lakes St. Marys is dying, and residents of Mercer and Auglaize counties, understandably, are pointing fingers at area farmers who allow manure runoff to feed the toxic algae blooms destroying the lake.