An Idea Whose Time Has Come: Elect the Attorney General

Should the Attorney General (A.G.) be directly accountable to the people or simply a direct appointment by the Governor? Senate Joint Resolution 10 (SJR10), a constitutional amendment to our State constitution provides for the direct election of Alaska's A.G.

Under current law, the Governor has unilateral power to appoint and dismiss the A.G. (subject only to confirmation of new appointments by the Legislature). Only three other states give the Governor such power over the A.G. A special council picks the A.G. in one state, the legislature in another, and the Supreme Court chooses Tennessee's. In 43 states, the people get to select their own A.G.

An Attorney General directly responsible to the voters will focus on better protection from crime for the innocent, surer prosecution of the accused, and appropriate punishment for those convicted.

Alaska deserves an A.G. dedicated to advancing the State's rights with vigor and full commitment. We will be far more certain the A.G. will do just that if he faces the voters in the next election.

By prohibiting the Attorney General from running for Governor or Lt. Governor until after an intervening election, we should help reduce or eliminate the use of the office as stepping-stone.

By requiring the A.G., after the primary, to run with the Governor and Lt. Governor as a team or ticket, we should go a long way to eliminating the potential friction between the Governor and an elected Attorney General.

By requiring the direct election of the A.G. we will go a long way toward making the A.G. a better servant of the people and the law. The great issues facing Alaska in our relationship with the Federal government will have to be a major focus of an elected A.G.

Those opposed to an A.G. elected by the people often argue that it is bad government to elect all the top officials. Well, no one is proposing electing any cabinet member except the Attorney General. In fact, during the last twenty years it has been the question of electing our own A.G. that has come up again and again. Certainly prominent people oppose this idea, former A.G.s, former Judges, attorneys...but the people? 75 percent or more support it.

Those who favor electing our Attorney General are not necessarily those with names everyone would recognize, but are some of the most important nonetheless. People like John G. Davies, Tamera Rempel, Jack Straayer, Malven Gaither, Ron Rebarchek, Jack Cowan, Doyle E. Currier, Barbara Hulbert, Joanna Coleman, Larry Varilek, Jean M. Thomas, Roberta Sheldon, Jimmie Coleman and Florence Bennet Hall. I am proud to join them.

After 38 years, it is time to give people a chance to vote on whether to elect their own Attorney General.