OPB News: Oregon’s Next Attorney General Likely To Emerge In Primary

From OPB News, April 7, 2008

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Salem correspondent Chris Lehman has a look at the two Democrats who could enforce laws that affect everything from your pocketbook to your personal safety.

But the race might not hinge on resumes. Instead, it could come down to a difference in philosophy. Is the attorney general the state’s top prosecutor or the state’s top consumer advocate?

Greg Macpherson: “I think it’s clearly the latter.”

...Greg Macpherson... says the attorney general shouldn’t focus on criminals.

Greg Macpherson: “We have 36 district attorneys who prosecute crime, and they do a great job of it in the 36 counties of the state. What our attorney general is, is the chief lawyer and advocate for Oregonians.”

Macpherson says his legislative experience demonstrates the kind of advocacy he’d engage in as attorney general.

Greg Macpherson: “I’ve passed laws cracking down on home meth labs, internet sex predators and identity theft, protecting people from crime and consumer fraud. I helped write and pass Ballot Measure 49, protecting our open space and farmland from uncontrolled development.”

Macpherson has the support of outgoing Attorney General Hardy Myers, and many have drawn comparisons between the two.

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