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Wednesday, July 5, 2006
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AG candidate hopes to end Republican dry spell
Associate Editor Rep. Jeff Johnson, R-Plymouth, 39, brought his state attorney general campaign to Brainerd Monday hoping to be the first GOP candidate to capture that post since Nov. 8, 1966 - three days before he was born.
The long dry spell for Republicans since Doug Head was elected attorney general is related to the electoral success of DFL attorney generals Warren Spannaus, Hubert H. Humphrey III and current Attorney General Mike Hatch, but Hatch's bid for governor has made the race for attorney general an open one this year.
Johnson, who's completing his third term in the House, is chairman of the House Civil Government Committee. He said he only wanted to serve in the Legislature for three or four terms and was prompted to run by his assessment there has been a decrease in the office's effectiveness and an emphasis on partisanship and politics.
Hatch, Johnson said, has placed too much emphasis on high-profile lawsuits.
"There's a place for lawsuits but it seems to me that that has become a first response as long as you can get a headline," Johnson said.
The chief author of a recent bill which increased penalties for methamphetamine, Johnson said the effort to eliminate a substantial number of meth labs has been successful. Now, he said, the difficult task of treating meth addicts remains. Many experts say that effective treatment takes as long as a year, according to the lawmaker. Johnson said the traditional 28-day treatment period was "a complete waste of money."
Fighting methamphetamine use and sexual predators will become top priorities if he is elected, Johnson said.
"Public safety is my No. 1 issue," he said.
A graduate of Concordia College in Moorhead and Georgetown University Law School, Johnson grew up in Detroit Lakes. He has practiced law for 15 years and started a business which teaches other lawyers employment and labor law.
Convinced that he'll be outspent by his opponent, Rep. Matt Entenza, DFL-St. Paul, Johnson said he'll practice retail politics and bring his message to as many people as he can.
Johnson planned to attend Monday's Fourth of July parade in Nisswa before heading to parades in Delano and in the Twin Cities on Tuesday.
He won the endorsement of the Republicans earlier this year.
MIKE O'ROURKE can be reached at mike.orourke@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5860.
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