AG candidates offer plans to change office

The rare lack of an incumbent in the race for Georgia’s next attorney general has drawn five well-known candidates, all promising to push the office in new directions.

The Republicans -- former Cobb County Commission Chairman Sam Olens, state Sen. Preston Smith and former U.S. Attorney Max Wood -- have vowed to be more aggressive in arguing states’ rights in issues such as federal health care legislation and a lawsuit that allows Georgia to verify voters' identity and citizenship.

The Democratic opponents, state Rep. Rob Teilhet and former Dougherty County District Attorney Ken Hodges, have pledged to focus more on consumer protection, and criminal investigations and prosecutions.

But there is one issue that unites two candidates across party lines. Both Hodges and Wood have made inroads with voters by emphasizing their experience as prosecutors. None of the other candidates have held the job.

“I have done it hundreds of times and supervised it thousands of times, so I can hit the ground running from Day One,” Hodges said about bringing and prosecuting cases.

Wood agreed, arguing that the experience creates a willingness to tackle big crimes or issues.

“The exercise of prosecutorial discretion is a unique skill,” Wood said. “No matter what decision you make, you make somebody mad. But that is political freedom, to do what you think is right.”

Hodges also has emphasized his experience in pursuing public corruption -- including getting Dougherty's assistant police chief to plead guilty to wire fraud and bribery charges -- and lobbying against practices such as payday lending.

He also proposes creating a civil rights division in the office to work with the state Commission on Equal Opportunity to review discrimination cases in the private sector.

Wood served as a state court district attorney and U.S. Air Force attorney before his federal stint. That background has him calling for the office to create an appellate division, so that specialists who are better prepared and skilled would handle cases on appeal to the federal circuit or state Supreme Court.

He also wants to study whether opening satellite offices in the state would be more cost-effective than the current practice of hiring outside firms, and he vows to create a division focused on computer-based crimes. Those investigators and attorneys would work across county and jurisdictional lines on crimes such as child solicitation online.

Computers were as big as rooms the last time there was an open race for the state's top lawyer, showing how much has changed both in the office and in the state.

Since that 1942 election, the office has morphed from primarily being the legal adviser to the governor to serving as the attorney for all state agencies and departments.

All GOP candidates claim that the office is rife with partisanship, citing Attorney General Thurbert Baker’s refusal to handle a lawsuit challenging the federal health care overhaul and another that seeks federal court approval of state election procedures.

The health care lawsuit would be a top priority for Olens, whose platform also calls for statewide grand juries to prosecute criminal cases, an increase to fraud investigations and for renewed efforts to reach a settlement on the water wars with Alabama and Florida.

Olens cites his experience as a trial attorney and work on joint boards such as the Atlanta Regional Commission as valuable for the need to fight in some arenas while seeking consensus in others.

“The issue of being an effective AG is far more if you can tell where you have the civil experience to be involved in 10th Amendment questions or the background in something as complex as water litigation,” Olens said. “I am the one who can handle the responsibilities of what the AG’s office actually does.”

Smith joined the race after being stripped of the chairmanship of the state Senate Judiciary Committee after he opposed his party’s hospital bed tax.

He argues that his independent streak and legislative background best suit the office he vows to move beyond politics.

His first act would be to join the health care lawsuit in an official capacity. He supports the federal voting lawsuit and argues that his office would also help craft statewide policy and legislation on illegal immigration -- in areas such as public universities and health care -- to avoid additional court fights.

“I think we need an attorney general who will engage in these fights and be independent in representing the citizens of Georgia,” Smith said.

Teilhet has been the most vocal in calling to remake the office to pursue cases on behalf of state residents, not just to defend the state in lawsuits or claims.

He cites his legislative work on consumer protection measures -- such as requiring nationwide background checks on those working with the elderly, children or disabled -- as an example of his agenda.

His plans also include broadening the DNA database, creating a special unit for child protection measures and legislation that would restrict sex offenders from popular social networking sites such as Facebook.

His experience as a lawmaker and attorney also will help with ongoing issues, such as the fight over water and the voting lawsuit. He would push for negotiated settlements on both issues in a bid to get resolution before new issues such as reapportionment for political offices come up later in the term.

“These are fundamental issues that are going to be there throughout the term and are great examples of what experience matters for this job,” Teilhet said. "In terms of what the attorney general is called upon to do, my experience is more relevant."

Attorney general candidates

Republicans

Sam Olens

Age: 52

Education: Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts, American University; Juris Doctor, Emory School of Law.

Profession: Civil attorney, 27 years.

Political experience: Chairman, Cobb County Board of Commissioners, 2002 to 2010; Cobb County commissioner, 1999 to 2002.

Military experience: N/A

Civic experience: Georgia Department of Community Affairs board of directors, 2003 to present; Atlanta Regional Commission, chairman, 2004 to 2009; Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District, vice chairman, 2005 to present; United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, 2005 to present; Association County Commissioners of Georgia; Metro Atlanta Arts & Culture Coalition; Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority; Metro Atlanta YMCA.

Family status: Wife, Lisa. One daughter and one son.

Preston W. Smith

Age: 37

Education: Bachelor's degree, Baylor University; Juris Doctor, University of Georgia School of Law.

Profession: Attorney.

Political experience: State senator from Rome, 2003 to present; chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, 2005 to 2010.

Military experience: N/A

Civic experience: Board member, Northwest Georgia Sexual Assault Center; board member, DisABILITY Link; life member, Lawyers Foundation of Georgia; member, Rome Rotary Club; member, National Rifle Association.

Family status: Four children.

Max Wood

Age: 50

Education: Bachelor's degree, LaGrange College; Juris Doctor, University of Georgia.

Profession: Attorney

Political experience: Never elected to public office; appointed by President George W. Bush as U.S. attorney for Middle Georgia, 2001 to 2009.

Military experience: U.S. Air Force, 1987 to 1991; diplomatic attaché in Iraq, 2006; currently a colonel in Air National Guard.

Civic experience: Rotary Club, downtown Macon; founding trustee, Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East.

Family status: Wife, Suzanne. Three children.

Democrats

Ken Hodges

Age: 46

Education: Bachelor's degree, sociology, Emory University; Juris Doctor, University of Georgia.

Profession: Attorney

Political experience: Elected prosecutor and former district attorney of Dougherty County for 12 years.

Military experience: N/A

Civic experience: Board of directors, Albany Civil Rights Museum; board of directors, Darton College Foundation; board of directors, State Botanical Garden of Georgia; past president, Georgia District Attorney's Association; former chairman, Prosecuting Attorney's Council of Georgia; fellow, Lawyer's Foundation of Georgia.

Family status: Wife, Melissa Kill Hodges. One daughter.

Rob Teilhet