Election 2009: Down Ticket

Candidates for lieutenant governor and attorney general struggle for attention in a scene dominated by the gubernatorial race. The down-ticket nominees run as members of a team yet manage their own campaigns. The frustration is compounded by the point that neither the lieutenant governor nor the attorney general ought to be subject to direct popular vote.

The lieutenant governor has few official tasks. The most important function is one he or she would not want to fulfill. The lieutenant governor succeeds to the governorship if the governor dies or resigns. This has not happened in modern times. If a succession occurred, however, the new governor should belong to the same party as the governor he or she replaced.

The lieutenant governor also presides over the state Senate and casts votes on legislation in the event of a tie. Several times a session the presiding officer settles parliamentary questions of import. The lieutenant governor sits on various boards, cuts ribbons, promotes Virginia, and roots for the commonwealth's college football teams. We believe the governor and lieutenant governor should run together, as candidates for president and vice president run.

Every lieutenant governor and attorney general elected since 1973 has made a serious bid for governor. George Allen and Mark Warner were the only individuals during that span to win a gubernatorial election without serving in one of the other two statewide positions. Next Tuesday's results will have an impact in 2013.

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On Sunday

The Times-Dispatch endorsed Republican Bob McDonnell for governor. Today we endorse his running mate, Bill Bolling, for lieutenant governor. The incumbent, Bolling personally has earned a second term. His service as county supervisor (in Hanover), state senator, and, for the past four years, in statewide office has allowed him to observe government from diverse perspectives. He stands in Virginia's center-right mainstream. Commitments to merit-based judicial selection and to non-partisan redistricting affirm Bolling's reform credentials.

The campaign for lieutenant governor has descended into superciliousness. Jody Wagner, the Democratic challenger, accuses Bolling of missing numerous meetings of state boards, commissions, panels, needlepoint clubs, and chowder societies. Bolling answers that he appeared at meetings where his presence was essential and sent emissaries in other circumstances. This rates as a non-issue. Bolling questions Wagner's competence in making budget projections while toiling as Virginia's chief numbers-cruncher. The implication sometimes seems to be that she bears personal responsibility for the budget mess, perhaps even for the recession. Most states confront budgets in crisis. We have seen no compelling evidence that Virginia missed the forecasts by wider margins than its peers. This rates as a non-issue, too. Moreover, Wagner occupied a lofty executive office while Virginia retained its reputation as the best-managed state in the Union. Both candidates are able. Wagner says candidates for governor and lieutenant governor ought run in tandem. Bolling has our vote.

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Does the GOP enjoy an electoral lock on the attorney general's office? The past four winners have been Republicans in large part because their campaigns have stressed the prosecutorial aspects of the position. The victors have run as crusaders determined to smite the bad guys. This year offers a twist, as Democrat Steve Shannon emphasizes his experience as a prosecutor while Republican Ken Cuccinelli defines the attorney general as the state's counsel. The job indeed seems corporate in nature.

Shannon targets sexual abuse of minors; Cuccinelli advocates on behalf of mental health. The candidates score in motivation and sincerity. The turning point occurred when the U.S. Supreme Court made a ruling that threatened state prosecutions that rely on breathalyzers, lab tests, and other forensic evidence. Cuccinelli quickly grasped the implications. Yet when he called for a special session of the General Assembly to resolve the complications of Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, Shannon denounced him for staging a political stunt. Cuccinelli was right. The Republican also broke with his party's string-'em-up caucus on an unnecessary expansion of the death penalty. There are other reasons many consider Shannon the strongest candidate on the Democratic ticket.

The duties of the Virginia attorney general resemble the duties of the U.S. attorney general. We believe the post should not be elected but should be filled by gubernatorial nomination subject to legislative confirmation. We also believe that the governor and the attorney general ought to read from the same partisan page. Although Cuccinelli's statements on certain social issues trouble us, his perspicacity regarding Melendez reinforces institutional arguments in making the case for the Republican's election.

The Times-Dispatch endorses Ken Cuccinelli for attorney general. His job will be to advise and to represent, not to pursue an agenda.

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Regardless of the outcome next week, we will continue to press for a governor and lieutenant governor elected as a team and an appointed attorney general.