Attorney David Sterling of Little Rock said Tuesday that he wants to protect Arkansans from “an overreaching” federal government as he launched his bid for the Republican nomination for attorney general next year.
“As attorney general, I’ll stand up for state authority and individual liberty by working to rein in a federal government that has grown too powerful,” said Sterling, a 44-year-old attorney who practices business, commercial and contract law from his firm in North Little Rock and served as assistant city manager in Hope from 1997-98.
He said he also wants to protect children from violent crimes and taxpayers from fraud.
Sterling is the first to announce his intention to seek the attorney-general post, held by Jonesboro Democrat Dustin McDaniel since 2007. Last month, Sterling reported raising more than$46,000 in contributions and lending about $4,500 to his campaign in the first quarter of this year.
McDaniel is barred from seeking re-election under the state’s term limits. He withdrew from the race for the Democratic nomination for governor in January, weeks after acknowledging an inappropriate relationship with a Hot Springs lawyer.
The attorney general is the state’s chief legal officer. The job pays $72,408 a year.
Sterling said his other priorities would include fighting what he described as President Barack Obama’s efforts to limit “our Second Amendment rights,” defending Act 301 of 2013 - which bars most abortions after 12 weeks of gestation - defending the state’s definition of marriage in its constitution, protecting farmers and ranchers from “an out-of-control” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,and aggressively prosecuting Medicaid fraud.
He said he would file suit against the federal government if it oversteps limits on its constitutional authority on the Second Amendment if it encroaches on state authority.
The constitutionality of Act 301 of 2013 is being challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights in a federal lawsuit filed in Little Rock last month. The groups have asked a federal judge to issue an order preventing the law’s implementation this summer.
Sterling said he has volunteered for various Republican campaigns, ranging from former Gov. Mike Huckabee’s campaigns for the U.S. Senate in 1992 and lieutenant governor in 1993 to the 2010 and 2012 campaigns of U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin of Little Rock. He said he is a member of the Christian Legal Society, Federalist Society, the Republican National Lawyers Association and the National Rifle Association. He is married and has a daughter.
With more than a year before the May 20, 2014, primary election, at least a few other lawyers are considering running for attorney general and a few others have ruled out seeking the post.
Lawyer Leslie Rutledge of Little Rock, who previously worked for the National Republican Committee and for Huckabee in the governor’s office and his 2008 presidential campaign, said she’s considering seeking the GOP nomination for attorney general. She said she’ll likely make a final decision in the next month or so.
But Prosecuting Attorney Cody Hiland of Conway said he intends to seek re-election as prosecutor in 2014 rather than run for the Republican nomination for attorney general. He noted that his family has four children - ages 9, 11, 12 and 14.
First-term Rep. Mary Broadaway, D-Paragould, is weighing a bid for the Democratic nomination for attorney general and “is continuing to take steps in that direction,” said her spokesman, Mariah Hatta.
Former Rep. Chris Thomason, D-Hope, who is chancellor at the University of Arkansas Community College at Hope, said he has decided not to seek his party’s nomination for attorney general based on the best interest of his wife and 8-year-old son and his commitment to work to help students and communities grow in southwest Arkansas
Sen. Robert Thompson, D-Paragould, said he decided to seek re-election next year rather than run for attorney general because the rigors of campaigning statewide “ aren’t always conducive to being a good dad.” He and his wife have three children - 4, 8 and 12.
In November, Thompson, the former Senate Democratic leader, narrowly defeated Corning Republican Blake Johnson to win re-election to the state Senate.
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 05/08/2013