Published: March 27, 2008 11:02 am            

New Albany native running for attorney general

The race to decide who will follow state Attorney General Steve Carter will have a Southern Indiana flavor.

Chief Deputy Attorney General Greg Zoeller said he has been kidded while working in Indianapolis for having “the accent we have along the river.” The Republican— born in New Albany and raised in Clarksville — hopes to succeed Carter and voice his accent to command near 140 lawyers as the state’s top legal hound. He has served under Carter since 2001.

He said Southern Indiana is never far from his mind, though he has spent much of his professional career working in the state’s capital and Washington, D.C., as an aide to former U.S. Sen. and Vice President Dan Quayle.

“There’s people who say that I’ve been in Indianapolis or Washington so long that I’m no longer really from Southern Indiana,” Zoeller said. “I’ve always considered Clark and Floyd County as home.”

Zoeller, 52, hopes to use his connections to the region to be a major player in not only the attorney general election, but also for other GOP races.

“One of the things that I could add to the Republican ticket would be a very strong and aggressive campaign along the river,” he said. “I think it’s a vital part of reelection for the governor and I plan on making it one of the key parts of my campaign.”

Zoeller is attempting to rally GOP support around Indiana before the June party convention, when a representative will be chosen by delegates to run for attorney general. He said his time working alongside Carter and Quayle make him the right candidate.

“I think my experience in the office is probably unique,” Zoeller said. “The state’s law office requires a steady hand and a lot of experience.”

He said there is a history around the nation of deputy attorney generals being elected to the top position. He has traveled the state while working in government and said his passion remains in public service.

Zoeller lost his 1996 bid to represent the Republican party in the attorney general’s race. Carter was instead nominated but was defeated. He later won election in 2000.

Zoeller said he would continue the work of Carter — who announced he would not seek reelection last weekend. Zoeller wants to pick up where Carter left off on consumer-protection issues including the popular no-call directory.

There are still court cases to be fought on the no-call topic, according to Zoeller. He said he would remain a “strong advocate” of protecting privacy for residents, especially homeowners.

In between working for Quayle and Carter, Zoeller was in private practice for 10 years, beginning after he left his White House post in 1992.

Other candidates for the Republican nomination for the attorney general position include Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi and chair of the State Election Commission Tom Wheeler.

They are likely to face former U.S. Department of Justice trial attorney Linda Pence as the Democratic Party nominee.

Jennifer Wagner, communications director for the Indiana Democratic Party, told the Indianapolis Star that Pence has made a presentation about her candidacy to the party’s state central committee and is, so far, the only Democrat who has contacted state officials about the nomination.

“At this point,” Wagner told the Indianapolis Star. “I would expect her to be our nominee.”

Information from the Indianapolis Star was used in this article

        

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