Posted: Saturday, October 20, 2007 12:00 am
Law professor sets sights on attorney general post
By Matt Neznanski
Gazette-Times reporter
John Kroger plans to bring his experience as a federal prosecutor to bear on the Oregon attorney general's position, should he be elected as the state's top cop in 2008.
Kroger, on a campaign stop at the Gazette-Times, said his primary focus as attorney general would be to get the state's meth addiction under control.
"It doesn't split rich or poor, east or west," Kroger said.
Treatment options for meth offenders are badly underfunded, he said, adding that helping addicted people can often save money in the long run.
A former Marine, Kroger won awards for his work prosecuting mafia bosses in Washington from Attorney General Janet Reno, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the State Department.
He moved to Portland in 2002 and took a job teaching law there at Lewis & Clark Law School.
Once he'd relocated, the justice department called him back to indict more than a half-dozen Enron executives.
"I think that speaks to my record of handling high-level cases," Kroger said. "I don't need a posture of being tough on crime; I put hundreds of people in jail as a prosecutor."
Kroger said enforcing environmental laws would also be a priority, citing a BusinessWeek report that named Portland as the third-most polluted city next to Los Angeles and Detroit.
"Light treatment of environmental crimes becomes just a cost of doing business," Kroger said. "Just one company can do an awful lot of harm."
Attorney General Hardy Myers, 68, will not seek a fourth term after 12 years as head of the state's justice department - an organization of more than 1,300 employees with a $380 million budget.
Three-term state Rep. Greg Macpherson, a Democrat and Lake Oswego lawyer and three-term state lawmaker, will also vie for the chance to represent Democrats against an undetermined Republican challenger.
Matt Neznanski can be reached at 758-9518 or matt.neznanski@lee.net.