Ladenburg
TACOMA, Wash. (Legal Newsline) - A former Washington prosecutor says he is considering a second run for state attorney general.
John Ladenburg, the former Pierce County prosecutor and later executive, said on his website that he has formed an exploratory committee and "will be spending the coming weeks deciding" whether he will pursue a campaign for the post.
Ladenburg, a Democrat, ran for the job in 2008, but was defeated by current Attorney General Rob McKenna. McKenna is rumored to run for governor in 2012.
"Washington state must be a leader in the fight against sex predators, meth, identity theft and consumer fraud and I believe we have a lot of work to do in the Attorney General's Office," Ladenburg wrote on his website.
Ladenburg said as Pierce County Prosecutor he wrote the nation's first sex predator notification law and the nation's first civil commitment law that "gives us the option of civilly committing violent sex predators who are likely to reoffend when their sentence is up."
The former prosecutor also touted his efforts to tackle the state's meth epidemic. According to his biography, he organized Washington's first "Meth Summit." He also, according to his website, helped organize the state's first drug court.
The third of 16 children, Ladenburg was born in Leavenworth, Wash., and graduated from Stadium High School in Tacoma. He received both his undergraduate and law degrees from Gonzaga University.
He married his wife, Connie, 40 years ago. They have five grown children and nine grandchildren.
Bob Ferguson, a King County councilman, recently announced he plans to run for the attorney general post. Ferguson, also a Democrat, spent four years as a litigator with Preston Gates & Ellis, now K & L Gates, law firm.
From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by e-mail at jessica@legalnewsline.com.