Herring
LEESBURG, Va. (Legal Newsline) - Virginia state Sen. Mark Herring announced last week he is running for attorney general.
Herring, D-Loudon and Fairfax counties, said Tuesday he has filed the necessary paperwork and will seek the office in 2013.
"Over the last three years, we've watched Attorney General Cuccinelli pursue an ideological crusade that is out of step with the mainstream. Time after time, the attorney general has abused the powers of his office and twisted the law to advance his personal political agenda, which has been costly to taxpayers and costly to the credibility of the office. It's hurt Virginians and damaged our state's reputation," he said in a statement on his website.
"It's time to get politics out of the Attorney General's Office and return its focus to doing what's right for the people of Virginia."
Cuccinelli, a conservative Republican who has made a name for himself as the state's top lawyer, announced in December that he would run for governor in 2013.
Herring said Virginia can't afford another attorney general like Cuccinelli.
"Unfortunately, that's exactly what those on the Republican side jockeying to take his place are offering. But what Virginians are looking for is an attorney general who will restore the people's trust in the office," he said.
"I want to be the attorney general for all of the people in our state. Virginians deserve the respect and the protection of the law, regardless of the attorney general's personal politics.
"And that's the kind of attorney general I will be."
Elected to the state Senate in 2006, Herring previously served as a Loudon County supervisor for four years.
During his tenure in the Senate, he has been a leader in the effort to grow and expand technology-based economic development in the state. He also has championed legislation to target those who would commit financial scams against seniors.
Herring, a resident of Loudon County, holds both bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Virginia.
After graduating from University of Richmond's law school, he has practiced law in Leesburg for 22 years. He is the principal of the law firm Herring and Turner PC.
He and his wife, Laura, have two children.
From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by email at jessica@legalnewsline.com.