Since he won the primary elections in May, John Kroger has been canvassing Oregon in a campaign effort to win the state’s attorney general position. Yet some voters are asking, what’s the point?
Kroger is experiencing a rare political privilege as he approaches Election Day – an opportunity to be both the Republican and Democratic nominee in the race for the state’s top lawyer.
During the primary, he faced a close race for the Democratic nomination against Rep. Greg Macpherson. Without a GOP candidate to run for the position, Kroger also won the write-in vote for the Republican Party.
Kroger continues to campaign rigorously and has made several appearances at the University. Other candidates running for the position include Constitution Party nominee James Leuenberger, Working Families Party nominee J. Ashlee Albies, and Pacific Green Party nominee Walt Brown.
Many voters, including Democratic Party Spokesman Marc Siegel, are not seeing the race as a difficult one for the lone, major party candidate to win.
“Kroger is certainly in the lead,” Siegel said.
University Law student Ben Howard said he “didn’t even know there was anyone else in the race.”
Despite his double nomination, Kroger remains cautious and avoids being overly confident.
“We are not taking any chances,” Kroger said.
Kroger’s main goal for the attorney general’s office is dealing with the methamphetamine crisis in a fresh, progressive manner.For Kroger, illegal drug dealing is growing as the root of many of Oregon’s most difficult safety and crime issues.
“Meth is the number one cause of child abuse in this state,” Kroger said.
He believes the state must help people access drug treatment programs in order to fight the addiction of meth and other drugs. Curbing illegal substance abuse would also be beneficial by reducing the number of crimes committed by offenders who are under the influence of drugs, Kroger said.
Other goals of Kroger’s include improving the efficiency by which parents collect child support and providing federal support for County District Attorneys.
Kroger’s most relevant topic for students deals with environmental law, he said. He’s hoping to crack down on environmental trespasses against and pollution within the state.
“Students at the University of Oregon would be glad to know that I oppose liquefied natural gas proposals,” he said.
As the attorney general, it would be his job to act as the chief law office in efforts to improve environmental protection.
A graduate of Harvard Law School, Kroger served in the Marines, worked as a federal prosecutor in New York and in recent years worked as a law professor at the Portland-based Lewis & Clark Law School. Kroger wrote a book titled “Convictions,” chronicling his experiences of prosecuting underhanded Wall Street traders and organized crime bosses.
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