Republicans mull choices for attorney general slot

The Roanoke Times  |  May 25, 2009

Michael Sluss

May 24, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- RICHMOND --Does the Republican Party need a candidate for attorney general who has experience as a prosecutor?

Or should it nominate someone who has been in the middle of legislative battles over property rights, abortion and criminal justice issues?

Is it essential to balance the GOP's statewide ticket with a nominee from vote-rich Northern Virginia, where Republican candidates have performed poorly in recent statewide elections?

Those are key questions state Republicans must settle Saturday when they choose John Brownlee of Roanoke County, Ken Cuccinelli of Fairfax County or Dave Foster of Arlington County as their nominee for attorney general. The contest is the headline event of the two-day convention, which begins on Friday.

Nearly 11,000 delegates have signed up to participate, and the candidates expect as many as 85 percent of them to show up at the Richmond Coliseum. Brownlee and Cuccinelli said they have chartered buses to transport some of their supporters.

Brownlee, the former U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia, argues that Republicans must have a candidate with prosecuting experience to go head-to-head with Democrat Steve Shannon, who has worked as an assistant prosecutor in Fairfax County. Only one of Virginia's past five attorneys general lacked prior experience as a prosecutor, and Brownlee is the only former prosecutor in the GOP field.

"It puts the challenges we face in very clear terms," Brownlee said. "We know our target."

Brownlee said his record of convicting violent criminals and corrupt public officials and winning a lucrative settlement from the makers of the painkiller OxyContin give him the law-and-order credentials voters expect from a candidate for attorney general. He has been endorsed by 75 sheriffs and commonwealth's attorneys around the state, as well as former Attorney General Jerry Kilgore.

"I believe the people of Virginia will elect a prosecutor," Brownlee said. "The model that I offer the party is the model that wins."

But Brownlee is making his first run for public office, and it remains to be seen whether his case will resonate with the activists who decide the nomination.

Cuccinelli, an outspoken state senator from Fairfax County, was the first candidate to enter the race. He has described himself as "unapologetically pro-life and anti-tax" and he began building a network of conservative supporters prior to his narrow re-election victory to the Senate in 2007.

"I had to go statewide at a grass-roots level to raise money," Cuccinelli said. "When we stepped into the AG race, we contacted all those people and said, 'Hey, we're going to bring the same platform, the same agenda to the attorney general's office that we've been running on in the state Senate. Will you support us?' "

Cuccinelli has been a staunch opponent of abortion rights and campaigned for a constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriages. He also played a central role in passing legislation in 2007 that better defines uses for which government can exercise eminent domain authority, winning him plaudits from property rights advocates.

Cuccinelli, whose law practice includes business and civil litigation work, said his participation on the Senate Courts of Justice Committee has allowed him to help shape an array of criminal justice legislation. He said that experience "is more directly relevant to what the attorney general actually does ... than the prosecution experience."

Cuccinelli and Foster point out that the attorney general's office handles multiple functions as the state's legal arm, from providing advice and representation to the governor and state agencies to defending the constitutionality of laws passed by the General Assembly.

"It requires a broad-based background," said Foster, a partner in a Washington, D.C., law firm and a former chairman of the Arlington County School Board. "Ideally you want someone who has civil, criminal and constitutional experience, which I do. Anyone focused on [only] one of those areas is missing a big part of the job."

Foster said he has experience with civil, criminal and constitutional cases in state and federal courts, but also has focused on anti-trust, trade regulation and consumer protection issues. He said his candidacy should appeal to those concerned about economic issues -- particularly businesses.

"I think business people recognize that I've spent 28 years representing businesses from Fortune 100s to startup companies," Foster said. "So I know how business thinks, what draws it to the state, what frustrates it about the government."

House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, who has stayed neutral in the contest, said the nomination fight appears to be close.

"I think Cuccinelli has an advantage with folks who are looking strictly at whether or not someone matches up with them philosophically," Griffith said. "I think Brownlee has an advantage with those people who are looking to see who might best help the ticket."

Cuccinelli has questioned Brownlee's conservative credentials, and some of his supporters have criticized Brownlee for voting in Democratic primaries for president in 2004 and the U.S. Senate in 2006.

"It does not sit well with some people," Cuccinelli said.

Brownlee said he participated in the open primaries to vote against the strongest Democratic candidates and help former President Bush and former U.S. Sen. George Allen.

"I'm a Republican; I do everything I can to help my party," Brownlee said. "Clearly, the president appointed me [as U.S. attorney]. I'm not going to go in there voting against my own president."

Brownlee has taken aim at Cuccinelli's opposition to legislation that would eliminate the so-called "triggerman rule" and make certain murder accomplices eligible for the death penalty. The General Assembly has passed the bills in each of the past three years, only to have Gov. Tim Kaine veto them.

Cuccinelli supports the death penalty but said he opposed the triggerman legislation because it would be the biggest expansion of the death penalty since the resumption of capital punishment in 1976. In addition, he said, "it would be very inconsistently applied, and I'm concerned about our ability to be accurate."

"There's no type of case where it's more important to get the right outcome than a death penalty case," Cuccinelli said.

Cuccinelli said he still would defend the law as attorney general, but Brownlee said the senator's position on the issue is problematic.

"When it comes to being strong on law enforcement, he just doesn't have that record," Brownlee said of Cuccinelli.

Cuccinelli and Foster said they also could give the Republican ticket a foothold in Northern Virginia, a killing field for GOP candidates in recent statewide elections. "It's important to remind people in Northern Virginia that the Republican Party includes them," Cuccinelli said.

But Brownlee is no stranger to Northern Virginia. He attended high school in Fairfax County, has family in Northern Virginia and expects to be competitive in the region.

"We've been able to penetrate that area in significant numbers," Brownlee said.

But the candidates' claims of support will ring hollow if their backers fail to show up for the convention.

"So far we've been competitive in signing people up," Cuccinelli said. "Now we have to get them there."

The winner will fill out a GOP ticket headed by gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell, who has no opposition for the nomination. Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, who is running for re-election, faces a long-shot convention challenge from former 9th District congressional candidate Patrick Muldoon.

Activists also will elect a new party chairman to replace Jeff Frederick of Prince William County, who was dumped last month by the state party's governing body. Pat Mullins of Louisa County was installed as chairman earlier this month by the state GOP's central committee.

But he faces a convention challenge from Bill Stanley, a Frederick ally and chairman of the Franklin County Republican Committee.

Newstex ID: 35177527