By Robert Barron, Staff Writer
Oklahoma’s attorney general should show up to work every day and “do the right thing,” said Ryan Leonard, Republican candidate for the position.
Leonard is in private practice and is a former assistant district attorney in Canadian County. He also worked for former U.S. Sen. Don Nickles for four years during the 1990s.
During a stop Wednesday in Enid, Leonard said he will differ from the current attorney general, Drew Edmondson, by being the chief legal advocate and law enforcement officer for the state. Edmondson, a Democrat, has announced he is running for governor in 2010.
“Some federal issues present new challenges, both constitutionally and otherwise,” he said. “We may have to keep Congress and the president on the straight and narrow.”
For example, he said, the current health care debate has many people concerned about whether the federal government can require them to buy health insurance. There are legal issues that may arise from what Congress does, he said.
The attorney general is an advocate of the people to protect them as chief law enforcement officer and stand up for them as consumer advocate, he said.
“The nation is in the midst of the most massive federalism in history,” he said. “We’re seeing massive growth in federal spending and states may need to protect the balance between the state and federal government.”
There is a day-to-day fight for what is right and fair and just, he said.
In Oklahoma, Leonard said there is a serious methamphetamine problem, which is one of the state’s most serious legal challenges.
“It’s the scourge of the state,” he said. “It ruins people’s lives.”
In 2004, a law took effect that moved cold medicine containing pseudoephedrine behind the counter, but meth cooks have found ways to manufacture the drug in smaller batches, Leonard said, and a lot of pseudoephedrine comes to the state from Mexico. Through the multi-county grand jury system, he said, the attorney general has a way to play a role in fighting the meth problem.
Public corruption also is a situation which has been seen recently in Oklahoma, with people embezzling money from the state, Leonard said. The job of the attorney general, along with the state auditor, is to find and prosecute those offenders, he said.
Leonard thinks the state can create a legal environment in which businesses can prosper.
“There are great opportunities for Oklahoma and northwest Oklahoma,” he said. “Our best days are ahead of us.”
