Published: Tuesday, October 4, 1994
Page: 6A
EDITORIAL
If Mr. Fisher loses, it most likely will be because Gov. George Voinovich decided to shower some of his extra millions on state Sen. Betty Montgomery, who's the Republican in this contest. Sen. Montgomery is a good person, but she doesn't have Mr. Fisher's experience, and Mr. Fisher has done his job well enough that Gov. Voinovich shouldn't be excessively fixated on defeating him.
Particularly if Republicans clean up in the election on the state level, and if they take control of the House of Representatives, Mr. Fisher would be a good check on Republican dominance in Columbus.
Mr. Fisher was narrowly elected attorney general four years ago. Previously he served in the state senate, and he obviously has his eyes on higher office. Maybe in part because of his ambition, he is eager to run a good shop.
While the public rhetoric from both attorney general candidates focuses on crime, the attorney general is the state's top cop in name only. The attorney general's office runs the Bureau of Criminal Identification (a law-enforcement agency that, among other things, assists smaller police departments), and the office does coordinate some multi-county investigations. But mainly Mr. Fisher is the lawyer for state agencies. That's not nearly as sexy as doing drug raids.
If state agencies are as unhappy with Mr. Fisher's performance as Ms. Montgomery alleges, then they're suffering in silence. There has been no outcry, and Ms. Montgomery hasn't produced any evidence showing Mr. Fisher has fallen down on the job.
Mr. Fisher is an aggressive fund-raiser, and his office unabashedly promotes the boss and looks out for his political interests. That's one of Ms. Montgomery's other complaints. Specifically, she says Mr. Fisher has an expensive public-relations operation paid for by taxpayers. There may be some truth to this charge, but how much public - as opposed to political - business Mr. Fisher's liaison people and PR people do is hard to know. Again, though, Ms. Montgomery has more speculation than evidence.
One thing an attorney general can do with his office is promote specific legislation. Mr. Fisher has had a good agenda, and but for a royal controversy on some environmental legislation, he and his office have been constructive forces in the legislature.
Sen. Montgomery is emphasizing her background as a former Wood County prosecutor, and she's getting more political mileage from that pitch than from her experience in the Senate, where she has a good reputation. She, however, is too worried about offending special interests such as the National Rifle Association, but that probably has to do with the fact that she's the underdog in a heated contest.
Mr. Fisher deserves re-election. He has been tested and done a good job. Given the changes that could happen at the state level, voters should stick with the person who has a track record.
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