AG hopeful pays visit to Iola, SEK
Ralph De Zago counts four traits that should qualify him to be the state’s next attorney general.
De Zago, 61, Herington, will face State Sen. Derek Schmidt in August for the Republican nomination in the attorney general’s race.
De Zago, who stopped by Iola Friday while passing through southeast Kansas, said an effective attorney general should:
— Have experience within the attorney general’s office. He served for 31⁄2 years under former Attorney General Phill Kline, in which he wrote legal opinions and defended the state in a number of lawsuits.
— Have experience running an office of lawyers. He was the state’s chief public defender for northwest Kansas for 16 years, where he oversaw a staff of 10 attorneys.
— Have the ability to operate a large office (the attorney general’s office) in the framework of a larger organization (the Kansas government). De Zago also served as an officer and commander for the Army’s 1st Infantry Division in Fort Riley for four years.
— “And rightly or wrongly, an attorney general is graded on how he handles criminal matters,” said De Zago, who in his 28 years as an attorney has put him as a prosecutor and defender “in thousands of criminal cases, from first-degree murder to your simple property crimes.” He served as counsel in 1988 in the first criminal case in Kansas to use DNA evidence — the fourth in the country — as well as serving as counsel in the first and third death penalty cases since the death penalty was reinstituted in 1994.
RUNNING for attorney general should require a different type of campaign than other elective offices, De Zago said. One in which adherence to the law and not political persuasion should have the highest priority.
“I am opposed to the idea that political candidates should be required to have ‘war chests’ in order to run,” he said. “It’s insulting to the public.”
He also noted that eight officers in the attorney general’s office under Steve Six, a Democrat, also served under Kline, a Republican.
Attorney general should be an apolitical office, De Zago said.
“Looking at it analytically, there are two kinds of elective office — ones in which your political points of view are very important, such as senators, representatives, governors — and ones in which it shouldn’t matter nearly as much, such as attorney generals.
“If we base the race on experience, then I’d be a shoo-in,” he continued. “There will be no mud-slinging, and I’ve said all along that if any candidate with more experience than me decides to run, then I’ll drop out. But that’s not going to happen.”
There are some issues that De Zago favors.
— He promises local control for cities and counties in criminal matters on most criminal cases, promising not to get involved unless permission is granted.
— He also supports concealed carry laws and is a member of the National Rifle Association. De Zago hopes to implement educational programs to teach new gun owners how to use their weapons safely.
— De Zago supports capital punishment as a last resort “to keep the worst of the worst from ever living in our neighborhoods again.”
— As attorney general, De Zago would stress the importance of consumer protection, particularly from Internet, e-mail, telephone and direct mail fraud.
DE ZAGO grew up in New York and moved to Kansas in 1971 while in the Army. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Fordham University, his master’s degree at Kansas State University and his law degree from the University of Kansas.
Military service is a common thread in the De Zago household. His wife, Cathy, served in the military, as have all three of their sons.
