ELECTION PROFILE: Kansas Attorney General - (R) Derek Schmidt v. (D) A.J. Kotich

Finally, we move beyond U.S. House of Representative races and we get to focus on broader offices that entire state's electorate will decide.  Our first office in this list will be the Kansas Attorney General race.  Just so there's no confusion about the Kansas Attorney General's office, we're providing a Kansas state government organizational chart below.

Unlike policy offices, e.g. Representatives, Senators, Governors, etc., state offices such as Attorney General, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, and Kansas Commissioner of Insurance, are largely non-partisan positions.  There is, of course, no escaping that partisan politics can (and often do) affect how the office holders perform their tasks.  However, they are not inherently designed to be major policy influencing/shaping offices, so much as they are to be policy enforcing offices.  With that in mind, it is probably better to start off with outlining and explaining what the responsibilities are of the Kansas Attorney General, before examining the credentials and competency of those running for the office.

KANSAS ATTORNEY GENERAL

AUTHORITY:

The Kansas Attorney General derives it's authority from Article 1, Section 1 of the Kansas State Constitution.  It reads as the following:

 

"The constitutional officers of the executive department shall be the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, and attorney general, who shall have such qualifications as are provided by law."

DUTIES:

The Attorney General's office carries out its prescribed duties through the coordinated efforts of its constituent divisions. The office is responsible for (1) protecting consumers from fraud, (2) assisting the victims of crime, (3) defending the state in civil proceedings, (4) giving legal council to the state's various agencies and boards, and (5) ensuring the legal integrity of overall governmental operations as per Kansas' constitutional guidelines and state code. http://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_of_Kansas.

DIVISIONS:

1. Kansas Bureau of Investigation
2. Civil Litigation Division
3. Consumer Protection Division
4. Criminal Litigation Division
5. Legal Opinions and Government Counsel Division
6. Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Department
7. Victims' Services Division

LAYMAN'S TERMS: (Corresponding with the list above)

1. Investigates criminal activity at the request of local law enforcement.  Ex: Drug stings, organized crime, mass shootings, etc.
2. Acts as a defense law team when the state is sued.  Ex: State neglected to properly fix a dam which as a result broke and water flooded property and caused a lot of damage.
3. Investigates Scams.  Ex: Check fraud.
4. Assists by providing advice and resources to county attorneys offices in criminal cases. Ex: A huge child prostitution bust occurs in Kiowa County. They probably don't have all the resources necessary to deal with such a case, given how small it is.
5. Prepares legal opinions (can be binding) for public officials to avoid litigation by resolving legal disputes.  Also provides legal advice to other agencies to reduce litigation expense.  Ex: Legal interpretation on the definition of "shall" in the context of a specific statute.
6. Investigates and prosecutes health care provider fraud, handles complaints of patient abuse (financial and/or physical), and complaints of neglect by Medicaid providers.  Ex:  Doctor offices running up fraudulent bills and having Medicare cover the cost; nursing home residents who are scammed or abused by nursing home providers; and making sure Medicaid providers pay for what they're supposed to.
7. Educates victims and community members of victims' rights and coordinates statewide victim's services programs. Ex: Child abuse victims and counseling.

So basically, what we're looking for in an Attorney General, is someone who carries out and follows the law.  An attorney who upholds their oath to protect the Constitution of the United States and the Kansas State Constitution.  Also, we'd prefer the candidate to not easily succumb to political pressures or inappropriately use their office for political or personal reasons.

THE CANDIDATES 

(R) Derek Schmidt (Incumbent) - Personal campaign bio available here. Attorney General Schmidt served for 6 years as the majority leader of the Kansas State Senate before being elected to attorney general in 2010.   He served as an aid to 'moderates' Governor Bill Graves (R-Kansas, '95-'03), U.S. Senator Nancy Kassenbaum (R-Kansas, '78-'97) , and U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska, '97-'09; currently serving as Secretary of Defense).  He received his B.A. in Journalism from KU, a Masters in International Politics from the University of Leicester (United Kingdom), and his Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center. 

(D)  A.J. Kotich - The challenger in this race is no slouch either.  A.J. Kotich touts an equally impressive resume'.  He served in the United States Marine Corps, both as an enlisted soldier and as a Laywer Officer.  During his military career he was a USMC Judge Advocate and received the Navy Achievement Award.  He received his law degree from Washburn University and attended the prosecutor institute at Northwestern University School of Law. 

After his honorable service in the Marine Corps, "Kotich served as Chief Legal Counsel to three major state administrative agencies for thirteen agency heads under seven Kansas Governors of both major political parties. Additionally, Kotich served as Special Assistant Attorney General under each of the former Kansas Attorneys General beginning with Attorney General Bob Stephan....Beginning with the term of office of Kansas Governor Robert Bennett, Kotich first served as staff attorney and then as Chief Legal Counsel in the Kansas Department of Human Resources, now renamed the Kansas Department of Labor. Kotich served as Chief Counsel as well as other top executive positions at Human Resources/Labor from the late-1970’s until 2010 and became Chief Counsel for the Kansas Department of Administration shortly after Governor Sam Brownback took office in 2011. Kotich left that position in March of 2013."

CONCLUSION

It's clear that Derek Schmidt puts his office duties ahead of politics.  A.J. Kotich, although qualified, is not receiving any support from the Democrat machine.  His only real issue is that conceal carry permits are not being issued fast enough.  Ironically, this is what some on the 'right' were fervently criticizing Derek Schmidt for, even threatening to run a candidate to the 'right' of him.  You could vote for A.J. Kotich, but we think you should probably err on the side of the incumbent.  Why?  Kansas is in need of principled, state-first, party-second office holders.  Schmidt may not have any further political ambitions after his time as Attorney General is over, but we hope like Hell he does.  He's exactly what Independents look for.