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Saturday, January 03, 2009

Ind. Gov't. - Incoming Attorney General Zoeller featured today

The Evansville Courier & Press reporter, Bryan Corbin, has a lengthy feature today on Greg Zoeller. A few quotes:

Zoeller will succeed his boss, outgoing Attorney General Steve Carter, and plans to build on Carter's programs of the past eight years. But Zoeller also learned from another Hoosier politician, Dan Quayle.Zoeller has been Carter's second-in-command; and when sworn in as Indiana attorney general Jan. 12, he will inherit Carter's consumer-protection responsibilities and the Do Not Call List that Carter promoted to deter telemarketers.

Zoeller, 53, has promised to continue the current attorney general's ongoing lawsuit against alleged racketeering by political figures in East Chicago, Ind. Investigating public corruption is one of the attorney general's duties, and Zoeller suspects the misuse of tax dollars will become more of a problem in Indiana as the economy worsens.

"If you look at the state of the economy, there's probably even more reason to be concerned over those who have responsibility for public funds," Zoeller said. "We do come to office at a time when we've got a major economic crisis in the country. So it's not always about developing new programs, but preparing for what I can envision to be additional challenges for the office."

Zoeller will supervise 140 attorneys who enforce consumer-protection laws and represent the state when prisoners appeal their convictions in appellate court.

As attorney general, Zoeller will have a regulatory role in ensuring that tax-exempt nonprofits use their donations in the public's interest. And he is looking at changing the way the office investigates medical-licensing complaints so they end with more "certainty," he said.

"Probably his biggest challenge is just making his own mark. When you work under somebody else and you step to the forefront, you have to differentiate yourself from your prior boss and set your own course," said Rep. Trent Van Haaften, D-Mount Vernon, a former Posey County prosecutor. "How (Zoeller) does that depends on what course he chooses to take, whether he is out front on a number of things, whether he finds a cause or two that needs to be addressed and addresses it."

Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 3, 2009 08:07 AM
Posted to Indiana Government